Star Wars: Galaxy of War
by weizhong
Summary: Jedi Master Geran Skirata journeys across the galaxy in service of the Jedi, and battles countless droids, stormtroopers and even a few Dark Jedi as the Galactic Republic fights to stay alive in an ocean of war...
1. Lurking Assassin

DISCLAIMER: I unfortunately don't own Star Wars.

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Chapter 1: Lurking Assassin

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He was in a dream. He heard a voice calling his name:

"Master Geran! Help me! Help me! Master!"

Jedi Master Geran Skirata woke up with a start. He was being shaken by his young Padawan, Sitk Zawn.

Sitk looked at Master Geran quizzically. "Are you all right, Master? You look like you've had a nightmare. Have you been doing deathsticks or something? I knew you had some sort of secret or something!"

Geran looked at him oddly, and replied, "Why would you even think that I go near those condensed sticks of early death? Anyways, I'm fine Sitk, what's the matter?"

Sitk replied, "Well, the council is having a meeting or something, and we're supposed to attend or something."

Geran nodded, and pulled on his robes. He looked around his austere room in the newly renovated Jedi Chambers. It was sparsely decorated, reflecting Geran's rather spartan nature. He saw his Padawan sitting on a chair in front of him. The jokester Nautiloid Padawan was a tough Padawan to work with at times because of his tendency to take things not very seriously. But, he was improving. He also used the Force to open a special locked box that contained his lightsaber. It was shaped like a rod made of metal covered in red grips, which reached up to the emitter, which was shaped like four claws bending inward. It was also decorated with a Mandalorian symbol, the Mythosaur head. Geran was highly proud of being one of the only Mandalorian Jedi, and his battle armor was even made of Mandalorian Iron, impenetrable to even lightsabers, known as Beskar in Mando'a, language of the Mandalorians. The armor was even designed like traditional Mandalorian armor. Attaching his lightsaber to his belt, and after putting on his battle armor, then pulling on his cloak, he nodded to his Padawan for them to go.

Arriving at the council room, Geran and Sitk bowed respectfully to the Grand Master, Anakin Skywalker. Though it was now 200 years since the former Anakin Skywalker had lived, the two looked startling alike. The proud Skywalker blood still flowed through his vein, and the family was as strong with the force as ever. Geran and Sitk proceeded to bow to the other Council Members, and turned back to the old Grand Master.

Anakin greeted the two, and said, "Welcome young Geran and young Sitk. As you know the war is escalating into a conflict not seen since the Yuuzhan-Vong invasion. While we support the Galactic Free Republic, and they are allied with the immense Planetary Union, the Galactic Empire is growing larger and larger each and every day. Their powerful allies, the reborn Confederation of Independent Systems is creating a nigh-on infinite droid army. However, there is an even more pressing matter. Darth Vicinious, the mysterious leader of the Sith is creating a force of Dark Jedi to rival the Jedi! Even worse, he is searching for a new apprentice to fill the empty position of the Apprentice, ever since his old one, Darth Excrucitous was killed by you, Geran."

Sitk looked over at Geran and saw a flash of pain come over his master's face; in an instant, it was gone. He thought about it for a minute, before he broke the silence.

Sitk asked, "What are we supposed to do, fight some Fallen Jedi or something?"

Anakin looked at them and said, "Master Geran, you and your Padawan are to join a Republic fleet in it's invasion of the Mustafar system. Good luck."

Aboard the _GRN Raider, _Admiral Sarewn Tyzare was showing the two Jedi around. He said, arriving at the bridge, "The _Raider _is a fine _Liberty_-Class Battlecruiser. She could take almost any ship in the Galaxy in a fight. She's one of the newer ships. Also, we will meet 2 ships above Mustafar soon. We're the lead of our group. The others will come soon after us. We should be arriving above Mustafar right about ...now."

However, a strange sight met their eyes when they jumped out of hyperspace. Only one ship greeted them.

Geran said, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Admiral Tyzare exclaimed, "There's something wrong; there should be two ships, and that ship, the _Hunter, _is unresponsive."

A communications officer reported, "Incoming message sir."

A hologram appeared in the central hologram projector. It was a Republic trooper holding on to his bloody arm. He was missing his helmet, and looked young, strong, and terrified, more than terrified, like he was about to die, and had not had time to come to grips with the fact.

He whispered, "Get away from the area, NOW! It came from Mustafar, a lone, small ship! I-it should have been easy to destroy but the p-projectiles, they they NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! N-NO!" They watched in helpless horror as the trooper shot at something with his blaster pistol He tried to run, but something lashed out and stabbed him in the chest. He sank to his knees, gripping his bloody chest, and crying in terror as the unknown thing shot the monitor. All that could be heard were screams, and suddenly, silence. The message stopped.

Everyone in the bridge was stunned. A few looked horrified, others, terrified. Even Admiral Tyzare, who had been in the Republic for 15 years, ever since he was 20, looked unnerved.

A radar officer cried out. "F-fifty projectiles headed towards the ship at high speed! They l-look like boarders! They're headed for the starboard side!"

Admiral Tyzare immediately slammed his hand on the intercom, and barked, "I want a company of troopers to repel that boarding party, NOW! Starboard side, sector R-3!"

The guns blasted a hail of rounds at the incoming boarders. The wall of blasts greeted the diving projectiles, destroying many of them with each volley. Back on the ship, Geran and Sitk were meeting a captain. He introduced himself, "Hello General Skirata and Commander Zawn. My name is Captain Hiyu Blitz of Blaze company, We'll be helping you repel these boarders. We're also your spearhead company for the invasion itself."

Geran nodded stiffly, and Sitk greeted him, "What's up?"

At that moment, a projectile slammed into the hull of the ship. On it, was the insignia of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

"That's impossible!" Sitk cried out. "Didn't the Republic spies say that the new CIS boarding projectile was only in the experimental phase?"

Geran nodded, and wondered aloud, "That IS odd... Hmm..." He trailed off in thought.

Sitk was about to say something, when, a hiss of air could be heard. Everyone turned towards the boarding projectile. The troopers raised up their blaster rifles.

"Steady...Wait for it to open." Captain Blitz said.

The doors hissed open slowly. A thin beam of light shot out of the darkness of the projectile. It seemed to be searching, scrabbling for something. It came to rest on one soldier.

Captain Blitz immediately pushed him out of the way as several blaster bolts rapidly thundered out of the darkness. A blur of light rushed out of the boarding ship. It was a huge, monstrous droid. Everyone gasped in horror as he flew towards a soldier.

Captain Blitz roared, "Fire now!" Every soldier fired immediately. The monstrous droid didn't even flinch as the bolts hit him. Too late, the group noticed the long flexible tail of the droid, that was also tipped with a deadly blade, as it lashed out and stabbed the soldier. The doomed soldier cried out as he slowly died.

Before Geran could stop him, Sitk jumped into action. He leapt at the droid, and slashed him with his lightsaber. The droid staggered back, but was unharmed. His red photoreceptors glowed, as the droid took in this new target.

Suddenly, a long vibro-blade slid out of the droid's right arm. A deep booming sound emanted from the droid as he seemed to chuckle. In an instant, he slashed at Sitk.

Sitk narrowly avoided the slash as he leapt back. Immediately, Geran also leapt forward, and stabbed at the monster.

Geran nearly lost his balance as the blade glanced off the side of the droid's armor.

Sitk parried the droid's thrust, and continued to slash and stab. The droid took no notice, and chuckled again as his left arm transformed into a blaster. He fired rapidly at the young Jedi, as the soldiers fired uselessly at the monstrous droid.

Geran suddenly had an idea, and thought to humself, "I wonder if this droid is also smash-resistant?" He yelled at Sitk to get out of the way.

Sitk nodded, and he nimbly leapt away as Geran Force-Pushed the droid into the wall.

The droid got up, and spun around. It seemed angrier. However, he was uneffected by the impact, except for the fact that his photoreceptors were now cracked.

Geran and Sitk had a simultaneous idea, and they nodded at each other, as they sprinted towards the droid, leapt in midair, narrowly dodged the vibro-blade and tail swipes, and stabbed their lightsabers into the monster's eyes.

The droid slumped down, and fell over, smoking. Geran and Sitk nodded at each other for a job well done.

Captain Blitz rushed over with his men, and congratulated the Jedi duo, when suddenly...

"You can never never never win," the droid croaked out as he twitched. It was obvious that he was close to destruction. "The Confederacy will will will triumph over over over you. Prepare to die die die, you pathetic meatbags. Ha ha ha h-."

The droid was interrupted by Captain Blitz, who had shot multiple blaster bolts into the droid's head through the photoreceptors.

"Never did like droids very much." Blitz calmly stated as he holstered his still-smoking blaster.


	2. Fields of Death

DISCLAIMER: I, unfortunately, don't own Star Wars. Curse you George Lucas!

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Chapter 2: The Fields of Death

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Master Geran sliced his way through a droid before slamming another one into a tank, smashing through it.

The sky was overcast as a battle raged over the planet of Mustafar. Geran was on the ground directing ground assault forces as the Galactic Free Republic forces battled the rogue reborn Confederacy of Independent Systems.

For days, the Republic Army had fought to a stalemate the droid armies of the CIS on Mustafar. The Republic was trying to break through the defenses of the CIS and destroy crucial droid-manufacturing plants on the surface of the planet. The CIS had responded with fierce attacks, and unlike the Republic, had a constant stream of soldiers from the manufacturing plant. Word had arrived that even the Galactic Empire was arriving to offer reinforcements. In retaliation, the Planetary Union had offered its army to help the Republic.

Nearby, Sitk stabbed through a droid's chest. Captain Blitz leaped off of a tank, shooting at droids with pistols smoking, landing on top of another one. All around, troopers and droids desperately fired at each other and grappled. A moment's hesitation left any soldier, droid or trooper smoking on the ground.

Geran flipped over the tide of droids over to the position of Sitk, slashing his lightsaber elegantly. By contrast, Sitk was wildly swinging his lightsaber.

All of a sudden, Sitk felt a hand on his soldier. Swinging around to behead whatever was there, he stopped abruptly. Looking into the full Mandalorian battle armor of his master, Sitk had almost beheaded him.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing, alright? A Jedi's lightsaber is an elegant weapon, designed to fit the owner's specifications." Geran rebuked Sitk harshly.

Sitk guiltily looked down, nodding. As he raised his head to reply to his master, he noticed a droid with a rocket launcher on his shoulder.

Sitk gave a shout, leaping over his master to slash the droid into two. Too late.

The missile shrieked towards Geran. He calmly turned around, and lifted his hand.

The missile started to slow down. Soon, it stopped completely, mere inches from Geran's hand.

Geran flipped his hand, and pushed forward. The missile turned direction, and flew towards a CIS turret emplacement. It cut a gentle arc before violently exploding on impact.

Turning towards Sitk, the shocked Padawan just stood amidst a pile of sparkling droid parts.

Geran just looked at him and asked, "What?"

Geran left no time for Sitk to respond, and promptly dived into combat once more.

Captain Blitz sprinted up to Sitk.

"Did the general just do what I think he just did?" Captain Blitz asked, amazed. The soldiers accompanying him bore similar expressions.

"Yeah, I think he did, or something." Sitk murmured.

All of a sudden, a sudden commotion arose in the ranks of the Republic. The only thing that could be heard were screams and the unmistakable whirring of a lightsaber.

Geran took one look at Sitk, and ran towards the commotion.

Speaking into the communications relay on his wrist, Geran said, "Continue fighting, Sitk. If these are the Dark Jedi that we have been informed about, I'll handle it."

"All right Master. I'll continue forward, or something. Watch your back out there." Sitk replied, with a hint of longing to fight in his voice.

Geran didn't respond, and merely leapt into the circle around the source of commotion. He froze.

In the middle of the circle, as troopers desperately fought, an armored warrior slashed to and fro, beheading, impaling, and slashing troopers in half.

A member of the Republic Aerial Elite, armed with a vibro-sword, flying wings, jetpack, and lightweight armor, desperately parried the armored warrior's blows.

Staggering back, the RAE trooper tripped on a rock, and screamed as his unprotected and hit the scorching hot soil of Mustafar. This gave the armored warrior enough time to stab down on the RAE trooper's head.

Geran flinched as the RAE trooper's last scream was abruptly cut off. Then, he gasped.

As the warrior turned around, Geran saw the helmet and armor he was wearing, and realized from the dossiers he had been reading last night that the warrior was none other than a Dark Jedi.

Leaping forward with a roar, Geran slashed down at the Dark Jedi. He merely raised up his lightsaber and blocked the blow.

"Jedi Master Geran Skirata. Still fighting with your distinctive Vasu fighting style I see." The Dark Jedi remarked.

The fact that the mysterious warrior knew so much unnerved Geran for a moment. He hesitated.

The Dark Jedi lunged forward, nearly impaling the Mandalorian Jedi. Geran's razor sharp reflexes were the only thing that saved him. He cursed under his breath.

"Getting slower, Skirata? I wonder how you managed to kill Darth Excrucitous all those years ago!" The Dark Jedi mocked, as he slashed forward three times, menacingly.

"Shut up!" Geran roared. The mere mention of the name Darth Excrucitous caused painful emotions to well up inside Geran. He leapt forward, slashing his lightsaber in a series of intricate, yet elegant moves.

The Dark Jedi slashed back, jumped back, then slashed forward, jumped back again, and repeated this process over and over again. Each time, Geran met him with his own strikes.

"A bit touchy, are we? Aren't all Jedi supposed to be detached and emotionless? You're nothing but a _di'kutla darmanda! _(Stupid Outcast) The Dark Jedi sarcastically snarled.

Geran froze. The Dark Jedi knew a lot about him, was highly skilled, and most chilling of all, spoke Mando'a, the language of the Mandalorians.

"Who are you?" Geran spoke unsteadily.

"Me? I'm just a simple former Jedi who realized the ways of the Jedi were false. I am a true Mandalorian who witnessed his village get razed to the ground after protests from our people. I was Qyntilla Ordo! I am now _Je'karta Solus! _(The Vengeful One) And you, _J__etii _(Jedi) are _kyr'adyc! _(Dead) Je'karta ripped off his helmet.

Je'karta sprang forward, slashing his lightsaber down. Geran narrowly blocked the blow. The blow caused Geran to trip, and as he fell, he kicked up some rocks in the air. They hit Je'karta in the face, and he screamed in pain. Geran relaxed for a moment.

Je'karta snarled and laughed, "_Di'kutla Jetii! _Now you die!" He leapt forward shooting out Force Lightning. Geran realized too late that the agony of Je'karta was all just a ruse.

Geran blocked the lightning with his lightsaber. It was not very strong, considering Je'karta was not a true Sith. Geran Force Pushed Je'karta back. This gave him time to think.

The beauty of the Vasu fighting style invented by Master Geran was how it was done. It was nicknamed "The Inquisitive Style." While most Jedi preferred to stay to the traditional ways, some, like Geran, mastered their own personal styles. The Vasu style emphasized making probing attacks, and blocking most of the time to analyze how an opponent fought. After determining an opponent's fighting style, a Vasu practioner would then exploit the weaknesses of the opponent's style. It required a high intellect, and an enormous sense of focus, both of which Geran had.

From his probing attacks, Geran realized that Je'karta blocked attacks in a way that would deflect his opponent's attacks. This would cause his opponents to be caught off-guard, and he would quickly attack. He also played with his opponent's emotions, and expected them to work well. He attacked ferociously, but would instantly retreat afterwards. Geran realized that the best way for him to defeat Je'karta would be to either attack as Je'karta made his retreats, or to pretend to be alarmed by Je'karta's verbal abuse, and attack him after he lunged.

Armed with this information, Geran waited. Je'karta roared and sprang forward. He slashed at Geran once, and leapt back. Seizing his chance, Geran leapt forward, and lunged at the exact moment that Je'karta leapt back.

Je'karta collasped on the ground. A hole in his lower chest smoked as Je'karta gasped.

"D-damn you, you bastard! You're nothing but _aruetii! _(Foreigner or Traitor) _Kyr'amu hetti darasuum dar'yaim, aruetii_! (Die and burn eternally in hell, traitor) Je'karta gasped.

"_Nu gana dar ijaa, dar'jetii_. _Kyr'amu iviin'yc. Nu iviin'yc cuyi Cuy'val Dar." _(You have no honor, Dark Jedi. Die quickly. You will soon be one of the dead) Geran replied.

"_Mando'ad draar digur! _(A Mandalorian never forgets) I will have my vengeance, _aruetii!" _Je'karta spat.

Geran did not reply, and walked away as a transport flew in to rescue the severely wounded Dark Jedi.


	3. Secret Mission

DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned Star Wars. But George Lucas beat me to that one…

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Chapter 3: Secret Mission

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Geran strode into Sitk's room. He was still sleeping.

Geran sighed, wondering why he had to be stuck with such a lazy apprentice. He strode over, and started pulling on the Nautiloid's dreadlock-like tentacles.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop pulling on my tentacles, master!" Sitk yelped.

"Important meeting. Mission Control Room A3. NOW!" Geran barked.

"All right, all right! Just let me get ready, or something!" The young Padawan grumbled.

* * *

Striding into the Mission Control Room, Geran and Sitk nodded to the Chief of Intelligence, General Rangot Nywk. Also in the auditorium-like room was Captain Blitz, and 9 other captains, and a hologram of Admiral Tyzare.

"Alright. Let's begin." General Nywk began.

"Our spies have penetrated one of the droid foundries on Mustafar. Intel reports state that nine of the main foundries are exactly the same, for cost-effectiveness. The tenth foundry is the largest and also the oldest factory. It was left over from the Clone Wars 200 or so years ago. For nine of you captains, excluding Captain Hiyu Blitz, your mission is to penetrate nine of the factories, and each of you will take a small group of the most elite soldiers from your companies. You will penetrate the factory from point Alpha, where the thinnest part of the wall is located, and also the closest to the main reactor core that powers the factory. Fight your way through to the main reactor core, and place time bombs at each of the marked locations on this map. Good luck. Simultaneously, Admiral Tyzare will attack the ships docked off of the CIS Station, _The Nute Gunray._ The _Nute Gunray _is also a droid factory. The _GRN Raider _will spear-point the attack. Admiral, I will leave it up to you how to approach this. All of you are dismissed except for our two Jedi here, and Captain Blitz. The mission commences at midnight tomorrow. Good luck to all of you." Captain Nywk reported.

All of the officers filed out, and the transmission of Admiral Tyzare flickered away. General Nywk turned towards Blitz and the Jedi.

"Alright, the reason I had you two stay was because the tenth foundry is almost twice as big as the others. The spies did not manage to penetrate this fortress as well: we've received the heads of every spy sent in. From the only spy who actually managed to make it past the defenses, we know that there are auto-turrets mounted along the foundry's walls that will shoot any one who gets near, using a heat-seeking system. Shortly before he died, he told us through his com-link that the North Wall was the best for penetration. After that, all we heard were blaster shots. Your mission is to take Blaze Company into the heart of the foundry to destroy the reactor core. We have no idea how many droids are in the base, and we have no idea where the reactor core of the base itself is. Good luck." General Nywk said before leaving briskly.

"What kind of intel report is that? He gave us almost no information and expects us to pull it off!" Blitz muttered.

Geran shook his head as Sitk started to doze off in his chair.

* * *

At midnight, Blaze Company left the Republic camp. Taking a small gunship fitted with a cloaking system, the soldiers flew in silently. The estimated range of the auto-turrets was 100 feet. Landing 150 feet away from the huge foundry, Geran jumped out of the gunship. He was outfitted in his Mandalorian Battle Armor or _beskar'gam._ Sitk's group was deployed on the other end of the North Wall.

Speaking into the com-link, Geran said, "All right. Let's get moving Sitk. The diversion is set to go off in three…two…one now."

Instantly, a huge flare went up in the sky. The auto-turrets all swiveled and fired at the flare, the largest source of heat in the area. More flares went up as members of Blaze Company shot flares to distract the turrets. Blaster shots and screams could be heard as the secondary diversion was launched.

To draw attention away from the infiltration team, the Republic Army had started to advance towards the CIS camp. That way, the flares could be mistaken for a lighting system.

Geran sprinted towards the base, with another trooper, Lieutenant Fhen following behind with members of Blaze Company.

When they reached the wall, they used x-rays to determine the thinnest part of the wall, and also to make sure that they were making a hole into an actual corridor. Geran quickly found a suitable location, and ignited his lightsaber.

He jammed it into the wall, cutting out a hole large enough for them to fit through. Taking a deep breath, he used the Force to smash the cut-out section of the wall back. Leaping through the hole, he saw a startled Neimodian standing with mouth agape. Realizing what was about to happen, he scurried away.

Geran sprinted towards him, and tackled the Neimodian to the ground.

"O-oh, p-please d-d-don't hurt m-me! I d-d-don't want t-t-t-t-to d-die!" The Neimodian sobbed.

"Shut up! We're not going to hurt you! Where is the main reactor core to the foundry?" Fhen barked.

"H-here, take t-t-this! I-I-t's a h-hologram map to t-t-he foundry! Now p-please don't kill m-me!" The Neimodian pitifully pleaded.

Fhen turned away, disgusted. He snapped at a trooper. He rushed over with cuffs. The group cuffed him to a bar, and left, using the map.

Running through the foundry, the group encountered some droids.

"Intruders! Intruders! Kill them, roger roger!" The leader droned.

Fhen blasted them with his blaster. Geran threw his lightsaber expertly, and sliced a few of them in half. Running forward, he caught his lightsaber, and used one of his crushgaunts to crush the leader.

Geran took a look at the map.

"Ok, according to this map, we are near the reactor core. This seems to be a central room that acts as a crossroads. If Sitk's team managed to obtain one of these maps, they should be at around the same spot as us, which means…" Geran calculated

Geran was interrupted by a droid that came flying through the air, wailing. It smashed into the wall, and collapsed. The soldiers turned towards the corridor it came from, blasters at the ready. Geran got into a ready stance.

"Oh yeah! Sitk scores a goal!" Sitk triumphantly said, charging out of the corridor with Blitz and the rest of the troopers following.

"Shut up you idiot! Do you want the whole foundry to know we're here?" Geran hissed.

"Oh. Sorry master!" Sitk said meekly.

The infiltrators took the central corridor to the reactor core. Inside, the reactor core hummed with power.

If it was taken out, the entire foundry would sink into the lava rivers of Mustafar. While the main battle took place far inland on one of Mustafar's continents, the foundries were located next to the lava rivers, for sake of ease in mining.

However, their entrance had not gone unnoticed. A group of droids appeared out of a hidden doorway. They all carried rifles.

"Take cover!" Blitz ordered, as the droids opened fire on their position. Geran and Sitk rushed forward. However, two shadowy shapes dropped from the ceiling.

Hitting the ground in front of the two Jedi, they rose. Geran stopped cold when he noticed who they were.

They were Vaxen-class droids. Specially trained for combat, they were derived from the infamous Magnaguards. They carried cortosis vibro-swords mounted on cortosis poles. The droids themselves carried the deadly skill of a Dark Jedi Knight. They were highly trained, and were often used as high-class guards or commanders.

Twirling their staffs around, they struck. Slashing down upon the two Jedi, the cortosis blades made contact with the humming lightsabers. Instantly, their lightsaber blades shorted out. Geran cursed under his breath. He had forgotten that pure cortosis shorted out lightsabers.

Sitk Force Pushed the droid, and sprang forward, tackling his droid for control of the vibro blade. Geran sighed. He was forced to use something he hadn't used in years.

He reached down to his waist as the Vaxen sprang forward. Instantly, a loud clang echoed as the cortosis blade was met with a different blade.

The shocked Vaxen staggered back.

"Meet my _beskad._ (Mandalorian Iron Sword) Made from pure _beskar._ And that, is why you're going to turn into scrap metal." Geran calmly stated.

Twirling the beskad over his head, he leapt forward, countering the blows from the staff. Soon, he countered with some of his own strikes. The powerful _beskad _started to overpower the cortosis. In one desperate attempt, the Vaxen stabbed forward. Geran had no time to react.

The blade smashed him in the chest, directly above his heart. Geran was knocked back, and collapsed. But, he got up again.

"Got me for a second, there. Cortosis might be lightsaber resistant, but it's not stronger than some good old _beskar._" Geran coughed.

Geran Force Pushed the droid to the ground. As it held up its staff to block any blow, Geran used the Force to augment his power.

He slashed down, smashing through the cortosis staff into the chest of the Vaxen. It shuddered, but merely pulled out another cortosis blade. He attached it to the bottom half of his staff. Geran cursed. Now he had two staves to worry about.

* * *

Meanwhile, Blitz's men had fought a deadly firefight with the droids.

"What do we do now, Sir?" A new recruit nervously asked.

"Hold on, I've got an idea, private." Blitz answered, while looking over the crate he was hiding behind.

The droids had brought out a huge mobile turret. They were chasing, and gunning down anyone they saw. Blitz realized that one or two thermal detonators were not nearly enough to take down the turret. But what about 10 linked together?

* * *

Sitk punched the Vaxen in the face, and tried to grab the blade. The Vaxen locked the staff in his hand. Sitk sighed. Then, he got an idea.

Leaping back, he slammed the droid into the wall with the Force. Then, he lifted him up with the Force, and threw him directly into the reactor core. He was instantly vaporized, with no damage to the reactor core itself.

Picking up his lightsaber, he ignited it, relieved that the charge had come back. He heard the click of a blaster changing settings. Turning, his eyes widened before a single shot hit him in the back. He collapsed.

* * *

Geran dived in with his beskad. Parrying thrusts from the blades, he stabbed forward. The Vaxen merely turned.

However, this was just a ruse. Geran took the opportunity to kick the heavy droid to the wall. Then, he threw the beskad, impaling the Vaxen's head.

The red photoreceptors flickered briefly before dying away. Geran picked up his lightsaber, and retrieved his beskad.

Looking around, he realized that the fight had moved considerably. He used the Force to sense his surroundings, and felt the presence of the soldiers. He headed back towards them, tiredly.

* * *

Blitz had assembled the soldiers with him and linked together 10 thermal detonators. Sticking them to the ground, he activated them to the pressure setting. Then, he and the other soldiers in the area hid behind a stack of crates.

Taking careful aim with his pistol, he shot another thermal detonator expertly placed on the wall, behind the line of thermal detonators. It exploded with a loud boom.

The turret swiveled, and headed towards the noise. It soon got close to the line of thermal detonators. The beeps of the impending explosion sounded.

The turret operator said, "What the-" before the thermal detonators exploded.

When the smoke cleared, the turret was in scraps, and so were about 20 other droids. On the other side of the room, the other half of the infiltration team staggered out. All the soldiers got to business placing time bombs.

* * *

Geran leapt through the corridor, slicing a droid in half, and landed back in the reactor core room. Blitz immediately grabbed him, and pulled him towards the center of the room.

"I've radioed central command. A cloaked transport should be here to pick us up any minute n-" Blitz reported

He was interrupted by a huge explosion. Looking up, they saw a hole in the ceiling. Ladders were thrown down, and the soldiers all clambered on to the transports.

* * *

Aboard the transports, they experienced heavy fire as the foundry's turrets fired at them. However, the transports flew away quickly.

Settling into a chair, Geran sighed. A huge explosion rocked the skies however. The time bombs had gone off on time. The foundry started to sink into the lava.

Geran smiled, "At least that's over." He closed his eyes. Then he remembered. He shot upright, startling some of the soldiers. He demanded.

"_**Where is Sitk?"**_


	4. The Search For Sitk

DISCLAIMER: Own Star Wars, I do not. The owner of Star Wars, George Lucas is. Also, Yoda, I am not.

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Chapter 4: The Search For Sitk

* * *

Jedi Master Jygine Bolgtu crouched in a tree. He was preparing to jump down to take out a group of tanks. He counted in his mind.

"3…2…1..G-aaaagh-!" He screamed before getting cut off. He was cut off by an arm wrapping around his neck, and another arm slicing his throat open.

"General? Are you al-oh my god, MEDIC!" A lone trooper screamed. He was so busy calling for a medic that he didn't notice a shadowy shape disappearing through the undergrowth of Felucia.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jedi Councilor, Hyjun Grattuki was relaxing in a chair in his room. After a long day of battle on Geonosis, he was exhausted. He closed his eyes slowly. Then, they flickered open.

He jumped up, igniting his lightsaber. A green light burst to life in the dark room as he waved his lightsaber around. He had sensed something eerily foreboding. Then he, turned towards a noise.

As he turned, a shadowy figure lashed out and impaled the Bothan Jedi from behind. He gasped, and collapsed to the ground as a crimson pool welled up underneath his unseeing eyes.

* * *

"10 Jedi Masters assassinated within the span of several minutes, and even Master Grattuki! A Councilor for the Force's sake!" The hysterical Councilor Yunt Gednabi shrieked. The diminutive Aleena tended to get hysterical in times of crisis.

"Now now, Master Gednabi. This is a crisis, but we need to stay calm. The Sith are no doubt the root of this, and we will soon find the cause of this problem if we stay focused and calm." The Sluissi Jedi Candobar Dure stated calmly.

"The Sith? Bah! Those windbags are long gone! They don't even exist anymore! We don't need to be afraid of those Jedi posers! The CIS or even the Empire is responsible for this!" The hotheaded Jedi Credgaf Nallow huffed.

"Please, everyone calm down. I believe we have a visitor. Geran?" The calm Anakin Skywalker smiled.

"Greetings, Council." Geran said, speaking through the hologram. "Two days ago, in the crucial mission to destroy droid foundries on Mustafar, my Padawan, Sitk Zawn disappeared. I would like to request one or two Jedi to help me search for him."

Anakin frowned. "Master Geran, I am sorry. Although we would like to help you search for your lost Padawan, we have bigger issues at hand. If you didn't receive the memo, 11 Jedi Masters were assassinated yesterday, including Master Gratukki. You of all people should realize that losing a Padawan is something, although painful, should not be remembered for too long. You have lost a Padawan in the past.

Geran experienced a pang of pain shooting through his heart. He remembered his last Padawan, Gufton Kugin.

"Please Master. I wish to find my Padawan. Isn't there anything you could do?" Geran pleaded, uncharacteristically.

Anakin sighed. "I am pressed for resources at the moment. However, if you find a willing Jedi, you may take them to find your lost Padawan."

Geran's heart leaped. He bowed to the Grand Master, and closed the transmission. He knew just who to ask to help him, an old friend of his: Jedi Master Tallisibeth Suntek. She would be willing to help him.

* * *

Geran met Tallisibeth in a Coruscant diner.

"Geran! It's great to see you!" Tallisibeth beamed as she hugged Geran.

"Hello Tallisibeth. It's good to see you too." Geran replied.

"Still got the sunny disposition you always did, huh? By the way, this is my Padawan. Frayik, meet Jedi Master Geran Skirata. Geran, meet Frayik Vednas." Tallisibeth introduced.

Frayik looked at Geran nervously.

"Are you all right?" Geran asked quizzically.

"D-did you actually kill Darth Excrucitous with your bare hands while he used 20 lightsabers at once?" Frayik asked.

"W-what? What rumors have they made up about me?" Geran asked, incredulously.

Tallisibeth laughed. "The Padawans all revere you as their hero for killing Darth Excrucitous, and also for your general exploits. But let's get to business. Why are you here, Geran?"

"It's about Sitk, my Padawan. He went missing on our last mission. His presence is gone from the Force, but I can still feel him ever so slightly. Will you help me look for him?" Geran anxiously questioned.

Tallisibeth looked at Geran warmly. "Geran, I still owe you one for saving me from those rancors on Dathomir. I'll help you."

"Thank you so much Tallisibeth. You have no idea how much this means to me. The only problem is, I have no idea where Sitk is, and whether or not he's been kidnapped, was stupid enough to get himself lost, or is dead, and I can feel him for some reason. There's only one way to find him. The Mandalorians." Geran said grimly.

"But, I thought they distrusted any and all Jedi? I mean, I know you're Mandalorian, but how are you going to get them on our side?" Tallisibeth pointed out.

"Oh, I have my ways. They'll probably listen to me, even though they hate Jedi." Geran replied.

"How? You're sharp as a lightsaber, Geran, but I don't think even you can convince the Mandalorians to trust us." Tallisibeth replied.

"I think I can. After all, the _Mand'alor_ (Mandalorian Leader) IS my father." Geran simply said.

* * *

Pain. He felt pain. Then, he was aware that he was alive.

Sitk painfully flickered his eyes open. He tried to move, but then he realized that his legs were chained to the ground, and his arms were stretched out like a Y, chained to the wall with what were presumably Force cuffs.

"Well well well, our little prisoner is awake. Too bad it's time for some pain." A voice said.

"W-w-who are you?" Sitk rasped.

A hand reached out of the darkness, flattening Sitk's neck against the wall.

"I'm your torture master. And I'm also known as Je'karta Solus." Je'karta evilly grinned.

* * *

Oooh, things are starting to heat up. Will Geran manage to convince the Mandalorians to help him track down his lost Padawan? Will the Jedi figure out who is behind the mysterious killings of the Jedi Masters? Will Sitk make it past the ruthless Je'karta? Will I ever stop talking? Will the next chapter be longer? The answer to that last one is yes.


	5. A Word From The Author Part One

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Star Wars

A word from the author:

Hi everybody. It's Weizhong, author of this story. Lately, I've found out that the computer I do most of my story typing on is infected with a lot of viruses, Trojans, and other malware. Unfortunately, I typed a whopping huge chapter with Geran and Tallisibeth on Mandalore, and Sitk's experiences in torture. So, it might be a long while before I manage to upload the next chapter. That chapter is on the infected computer. I'll try to post the story this weekend, but no promises. Thanks!


	6. Among the Mandalorians

DISCLAIMER: Star Wars is out of my reach, and not even Black Friday deals could allow me to own it…

* * *

Chapter 6: Among The Mandalorians

* * *

Geran returned to the docking bay of the airstrip where Tallisibeth and Frayik were waiting with the starfighters they had landed in.

They were in Keldabe, the capital of Mandalore. A bit of a rundown city, it was nonetheless heavily fortified capital of the Mandalorian sector itself.

Geran exchanged a few words with the man in charge of the airstrip, then thanked him. He returned to the other two Jedi.

"Alright, the man over there is in charge of this airstrip. He'll watch over our snub fighters for as long as we need. In the mean time, change into this armor that I bought." Geran informed.

"Whoa, slow down there, Geran. Why do we need new clothes?" Tallisibeth questioned.

"If you haven't noticed, anyone not wearing some _beskar'gam _(Mandalorian Armor) sticks out like an honest person in Mos Eisley. Worst of all, you two are both wearing Jedi robes, which will make you stick out even more, and make the people distrust you. Mandalorians are instinctively distrustful of any and all Jedi. So change into these clothes, now." Geran simply replied.

Tallisibeth ran for a bathroom, as did Frayik. Geran leaned against his fighter, and sighed. He wondered how his family would react to his return.

* * *

"AAAAAAUUUUUUGHHHH!" Sitk screamed in agony. Je'karta turned off the electric torture machine.

"Still won't tell us about your little Jedi plans for Operation Jedi Surge? " Je'karta questioned.

"S-screw y-you. I'll n-never t-t-tell you a-anything!" Sitk growled through his teeth.

"You've got quite an attitude there. I wonder if you can keep it up when we increase the voltage." Je'karta grinned evilly.

* * *

Geran led the way as the Jedi made their way towards the palace, where his father would most likely be having a meeting at the time. Even though he had been taken away to join the Jedi when he was very young, he had returned to Mandalore on his off-time for years until a certain incident had happened.

Geran remarked to his companions, "This place hasn't changed a bit in 8 years. Last time I came here, I was 18. Just became a Jedi Knight that day. My father is probably having a meeting in the palace, or in MandalMotors Hall. We'll check the palace first."

"Palace? I thought the Mandalorians were frugal!" Tallisibeth asked, confusedly.

Geran laughed. "Palace is what everyone calls it. It's more of a small fort-like hall. It's bigger than MandalMotors hall though."

Geran stopped as he reached the walls surrounding the palace. A sentry appeared over the wall.

"Halt! Who goes there!" He demanded as he raised a blaster rifle to his shoulder.

"Zoron? Is that you?" Geran asked, puzzled.

The sentry paused. Then, "_Geran?_ Is that you, buddy?" The sentry asked as he removed his helmet. Underneath was a young man, mouth agape as he stared at the trio.

"It's me alright, old friend." Geran smiled warmly as he removed his helmet as well.

"GERAN! I haven't seen you in _years!" _The excited Zoron switched to Mando'a, and started chatting with Geran as opened the gates. The confused Tallisibeth stood aside with an equally confused Frayik. Neither of them understood Mando'a.

Geran hugged his childhood friend and greeted him. He soon got down to business though, and asked in Galactic Basic, "Zoron, is my father in there?"

Zoron's face fell, and he also switched back to Basic, as he said, "Yeah, yeah. He's meeting with the clan leaders. He won't be happy to see you, ya know. What with all but one of your three brothers leaving the Mandalorians, your little "incident," he's not gonna be too happy to see you. And are those Jedi with you? You should probably tell them to hide their sabers, it's kinda obvious." He pointed out.

Tallisibeth turned red as she hastily hid her saber in a small pouch. Frayik did the same.

"Well, we better get moving. Let's get to the meeting room." Zoron said. The trio followed him.

They managed to get to the meeting room without too many people asking them questions. Zoron pushed open the doors. Inside, many leaders were meeting together at a huge table. A man clothed in gold armor, sitting at the head of the table, looked up.

"Who the hell are you? And why did you let these people in, Zoron?" The man demanded.

"You know who I am, Tor." Geran answered as he removed his helmet.

A gasp was heard around the room as whispered murmurs of "Geran!" and "Traitor" were heard

Suddenly, they heard some grunts, shoving, and a tall, powerfully built man shoved past the crowd standing around the walls. Geran recognized him as wearing the armor of the Mandalorian Protectors, the elite branch of the elite Mandalorian Supercommandoes. The man also had the insignia that identified him as the Supreme Commander of the Mandalorian Protectors. The man stopped in front of Geran.

He punched Geran in the face. Geran, surprised, crashed into the ground. Tallisibeth and Frayik whipped out their lightsabers, igniting them.

Geran tried to stop them, but he was out of breath. Instantly, Mandalorian Protectors sprang out, jumping out from the corridors. Also, Supercommandoes rushed out from the overhead balconies. They all pulled out blaster rifles, pistols, and nearby guards whipped out _beskads._ The Jedi were surrounded.

The man was a bit surprised, but soon recovered, and pulled off his helmet as he helped Geran to his feet. Geran did a double-take.

"Well, if it isn't Geran, my favorite little brother. You know, you deserve that for ditching us." The man grinned.

"J-Jaing? My god, it's you. Look at you! Supreme Commander of the Mandalorian Protectors!" Geran gasped and pulled his older brother into a hug. Jaing was the second-oldest, and Geran's closest brother. He was 2 years older than Geran.

"Well, if you two ladies are done with your shenanigans, we have to talk." Tor said.

"Tor. I know we didn't get off on the best of terms, but I need your help." Geran said, addressing the man.

"Is that any way to treat your father? Calling me by my first name? You were always disrespectful. And why should I help you? After what happened at Hiro? Not a chance. And your little Jedi friends don't exactly help your case." Tor sneered.

"Excuse me, but I've been hearing people call Geran a traitor. And I don't think any of that is true. Geran is honorable, noble, and a good man. What could cause you to not even help your own son?" Tallisibeth asked, boldly.

"Alright, let's take a look at this holocron then! We saved a video of little Geran's "finest hour!" Tor said, snapping his fingers.

Geran paled. He had not expected this. But then he mentally slapped himself in the face. He had forgotten. His arrogant father had always set the video recorder in his head to record any battle, so he could relive his "greatest moments." Geran gulped when he saw a guard set a Mandalorian holocron down on the ground. He flipped the switch.

Instantly, an image projected onto the screen.

The entire crowd could see Geran, crouching below a snow-covered embankment. His Padawan braid hung down, and was visible through the bottom of his ever-present helmet.

* * *

_Geran looked over at his master. Bothan Master Gyntiir Tyn-Baku peered over the edge of the snow bank. The camera turned. Across the snow filed lay thousands of soldiers, rebels from a planet in the Mandalorian Sector. The camera turned again, this time to behind the group. Behind the camera was a considerably smaller group of Mandalorian Supercommandoes, the Mandalorian Protectors, and many other regular soldiers of the Mandalorians.. Geran asked, "When, Master?"_

_"Hold on, Geran. The diversion should be readied soon. Tor Skirata, sir, can you ready the troops?" Gyntiir replied without taking his eyes off of the approaching army. The camera turned. Obviously, Tor was the one with the camera._

_"Yeah, yeah. Hey! Maggots! Get ready, we're moving out soon!" Tor called. The soldiers nodded back._

_"Ya know, I can't believe all we got were two Jedi! I mean, come on, these guys are dangerous, and we might have a tough time winning this!" Tor complained._

_"You know perfectly well that a few miles away, another force of Republic troopers is battling another force of Imperial Stormtroopers. Be glad you have us."_

_"Yeah, yeah. I just hope they fire the diversion so-" Tor was interrupted by a huge flare shooting up into the air._

_"Take cover! Shield your eyes!" Tor barked._

_The flare exploded with the bright intensity of a sun. The rebel army roared in pain, as they quickly shielded their eyes, blinded._

_"Go, go, go!" Tor barked, motioning forward._

_Instantly, the Mandalorians behind the embankment popped up, and started to fire upon the army. Cries of pain and screaming could be heard. The army started to slowly move forward, despite the hail of fire. Soon, the green bolts of the rebel rifles echoed back, and more than a few Mandalorians went down, crying in pain and clutching various parts of their body. However, most stayed alive due to their beskar armor. However, the few that had chosen not to wear it paid the price dearly._

_"Take cover! Canderous-class assault tanks, fire!" Tor ordered._

_The big tanks moved in. They quickly fired upon the approaching army. As they moved in, the sky darkened._

_Suddenly, one of the five tanks exploded. Then another, and another, and another, and finally, the last one exploded before getting off one last shot. The army looked up._

_Overhead, TIE Predators flew past, having destroyed the tanks. They flew off into space._

_"Damn! Those damn rebels are getting a lot of help from the Imps-ah!" Tor yelled._

_Behind them, a huge group of Imperial Stormtroopers were landing in Imperial Landing Craft. Tor swore._

_"Where the hell are your Republic friends, son! We need some help or we're screwed!" Tor demanded._

_"I-I don't know, Dad!" Geran gulped._

_At this point, the rebel army had closed in. They continued to fire. However, the bolts glanced off the armor of the Mandalorians. They charged forward, roaring, and all of them whipped out beskads._

_Geran and Gyntiir jumped in. Gyntiir wore the now customary Jedi battle-armor, given out to Jedi who were going into heavy combat. Geran wore his standard beskar'gam._

_The Mandalorians slashed and stabbed their way through the forces. However, here and there, the Mandalorians started to lose numbers simply because their foes also had beskar weapons._

_Tor screamed as a sharp thrust from a rebel left him with a knife in his calf. Gyntiir slashed the surrounding soldiers in half, and helped Tor pull out the knife. The tough Mandalore refused to sit out the battle._

_The Mandalorians were fighting bravely, but the approaching stormtroopers and rebels were proving too much even for them to handle. All of a sudden, Republic gunships swooped in from above. A trooper inside the transport called out as the gunship came near._

_"General Gyntiir Tyn-Baku, and Commander Geran Skirata! We need you to come with us! The larger Republic force is starting to fail, and the Jedi there have been killed! We need your help to rally the forces and defeat the Imperial forces! Hop on!"_

_"What about us! Are you just going to leave us here to die! What the hell is wrong with you?" Tor roared._

_"I'm sorry sir, we have orders to only bring the two Jedi. Our orders came directly from the Jedi High Command. Now get on!" the trooper yelled back, as one of the gunships exploded under Imperial fire. Burning bodies fell from the craft and hit the snow._

_Gyntiir jumped into the gunship. He motioned for Geran to follow. Tor motioned for Geran to stay with them and help fight._

_Geran was torn between his duty to his people, and his duty to the Republic and the Jedi. He looked back and forth between the two sides: His glaring father who was furious, and his waiting, and infinitely patient master. Geran made up his mind._

_Geran leapt into the gunship, as his father roared in anguish. He couldn't believe his own son was betraying him like this. He tried to shoot at the gunship, but Geran just blocked the bolt back into the snow. Tor threw his pistol down, and cursed at the fleeing gunships as the other soldiers did the same. Geran couldn't find the heart to look back at the dwindling force, as his master comforted him, telling him that he did the right thing._

_

* * *

_

"So, this is our little persistent Jedi." A voice in the darkness said. In front of him, Sitk kneeled on the ground, bound, and covered in small wounds.

"Yes, my lord." Je'karta said, eyes looking at the ground as he kneeled before Darth Vicinious.

"You have quite the pain tolerance. Few have ever survived such brutal techniques. You were taught well, Padawan. But you've never seen the powers of the Torturus. It's a droid, modeled after my last, failed apprentice. He was quite the torture master. And yet, he died fighting your master, young Sitk. He was still the best torture master in Sith history. Quite momentous. Let's see if his skills transfered onto his droid, Torturus. For your sake, I hope not." the voice started to cackle.

Sitk said nothing. Geran would break him out in no time.

Hopefully.

* * *

Ooh, chilling ending. I hope Sitk makes it out of this alive! And will Geran survive the harsh punishments for abandoning his people all those years ago? Who knows, we shall see! Yay for cliffhangers!

In other news, my computer did not have a virus, only spamware, which caused me to think there were viruses when they're weren't! Hurray!

Also, I've found out how to use these line thingies, so I'll be editing past chapters and stuff.

UPDATE: Alright, you guys may not know this, but I'm also an artist as well as an author. (Duh, I'm an author.) So, in the first of a few drawings I'll be making, I've drawn our prolific hero, Geran. Check my author page for a link to the Deviantart drawing! (I don't color in stuff: pencil sketches only!) Review this chapter and tell me what you think about the drawing and the story! Doesn't hurt to review, I don't have too many of those. :(


	7. Treachery and Geran's Search

DISCLAIMER: Star Wars is on my Christmas wishlist. But I don't think Santa will give me that one…

* * *

Chapter 7: Treachery and Geran's Search

* * *

"So. I think we all agree to the verdict for this _crime. _In accordance to Mandalorian Common Law, I declare you, Geran Skirata, deemed for execution." Tor announced as the video ended.

"No!" Tallisibeth called out as she rushed forward. She spread her arms out wide, in a silly attempt to protect Geran. He shoved her aside gently.

"No Tallisibeth. My father is right. I betrayed my people. I've prepared myself for this. Let me go." Geran said in a calm but low voice, staring directly into her eyes.

"B-but Geran! Y-you can't! You're going to d-d-die!" Tallisibeth said in a voice growing smaller and smaller, until at last, her voice was nearly inaudible when she finished.

"Let me go, Tallisibeth. This is my fate. I will do w-" Geran was interrupted.

The main door slammed open. Everyone in the crowd turned. A haggard Zoron stood at the door.

He cried, "F-foreign ships have broken t-through t-the atmosphere! They're starting to land troops!"

The entire crowd gasped, and scrambled out of the room through the door or many other corridors.

Geran rushed outside, pulling Tallisibeth and Frayik. He gasped. The ships had landed very close to the palace. They bore the unmistakable insignia of the Galactic Free Republic.

* * *

The ships poured out troopers, and they advanced on the palace. Mandalorian troopers stormed out of the surrounding areas, and they took up fortified positions. Immediately, they fired upon the approaching soldiers. The Republic troopers fired back, and tanks and artillery were dropped from the ships.

Immediately, the advance forces of the Mandalorian Space Defense flew in. The Mandalorian Space Defense prized its ability to respond to all Mandalorian threats quickly and efficiently. The dreaded _MRF Skirata, _a modified _Super_ _Kandosii_-class dreadnought was the flagship of the current fleet, and had been commisioned in honor of Tor's ascension to the throne. Geran dimly remembered playing on the behemoth ship as a young child.

As the Republic troopers futilely struggled to take the palace, the Mandalorians pulled out another surprise. Years ago, in the Mandalorian Wars, the Mandalorians had single-handedly defeated the entire Republic, only losing after the Republic unleashed a massive superweapon that wiped out the Mandalorian fleet. One of the most dreaded weapons that largely contributed to the victories was now unleashed upon the Republic once again. The Basilisk War Droid. However, MandalMotors had created newer derivatives, and the new models even implemented beskar alloy.

The Basilisks flew in, and Zoron could be seen, raising his fist in joy, yelling, "_Bes'uliik! _(Basilisk War Droid)"

Geran stood, shocked, and jumped into the center of the battle, and could see a Quarren Jedi battling with his father. The two were locked in combat, the Quarren using fast, elegant strokes on his yellow lightsaber, utilizing sweeping strokes that were easily used in the vast ocean expanses of his home planet, Mon Calamari. Tor, on the other hand, used short, brutal power strokes of his double-bladed beskad that easily utilized his natural strength and aggresiveness. Both were locked in combat, and neither seemed keen on losing.

Geran used the Force to blow both of them apart. He leapt in the center, whipping out his lightsaber in the process.

"Son! What the hell is going on here! Why are your Jedi friends here and attacking Mandalore! They know we're neutral in this war!" Tor barked, enraged.

"You must be the one called Skirata. My name is Rewat Juskan. As to why we are attacking, we have received intel reports that Mandalore is supplying the Separatists with weapons and money. And, the report listed YOU, Skirata, as a traitor within our ranks. You must have heard of the Jedi Master's assasinations. The latest one, the assasination of Councillor Bartoni Vedsi, occured in the Councillor's quarters. There was blood on the ground, and not all of it was the Councillors. We tested the blood sample, and the DNA matched yours 100%. Therefore, you, Skirata, are guilty of high treason, and are deemed for trial on the accounts of mass murder of 20 Jedi Masters. I am here to take you into custody. Follow me, or I'll have to use force. And trust me, you don't want that to happen." Juskan finished.

Geran paled. He looked back and forth between his father, who was demanding that he help him, and cut down Juskan, while Juskan was calming holding his hand out, waiting for Geran to turn in his lightsaber. Geran looked down.

Then, he simultaneously used the force to slam both of them back, and turned. He sprinted away from the battlefield.

Geran bolstered his running with the Force, and headed towards the docking bay. Using the Force, he jumped over the gate, into the docking bay. He jumped into his starfighter. His confused astromech droid, R2-F5 whirred questioningly. Geran ignored him, and set the coordinates for Coruscant.

As he prepared to lift off, Talllisibeth rushed into the hangar. She stared into Geran's eyes, and her eyes seemed to plead, "Why are you leaving us?"

Geran shook his head, and Tallisibeth tried to rush into her own starfighter. Geran winced as his heart experienced a pang of pain as he realized he was leaving everyone again. He shook it off, and took off. Soon, he headed into lightspeed, and was untraceable.

* * *

Tallisibeth stopped once she realized Geran was gone. She slunk down against her starfighter as her astromech, R2-T1 whirred and beeped, asking her what was wrong. Tallisibeth felt a void in her heart growing, and tears welled up in her eyes as the sounds of battle raged.

She shook off her mood, and returned to the battle.

* * *

Juskan screamed, as Tor sliced off his arm with his beskad. Juskan collapsed on the ground, panting. Tor stood over him, triumphant, and bellowed. He raised his beskad in the air, and prepared to finish off the fallen Jedi Knight.

Juskan panted, and tightened his grip on the lightsaber. He realized that Tor was wide open. He raised up, and could see the surprised expression on Tor's face through his helmet as he stabbed the Mandalore in the chest, through a small chink in the armor.

Tor staggered back, clutching his chest. He dropped his beskad, and collapsed on the ground as Juskan stood up and started to walk away.

Jaing rushed over to his fallen father, shooting all the advancing troopers with a blaster. He kneeled down, and ripped off his helmet. He stared at his dying father.

"S-s-son. H-h-help m-me take o-off m-my helmet..." Tor gasped.

Jaing stared into the old and weary eyes of his father. Tor gripped his arm tightly.

"L-listen c-closely! I-I want y-you to f-find the r-rest of your b-b-brothers, and l-look for Geran. Tell h-him I-I-I forgive h-him for e-everything. D-duty c-c-calls s-sometimes. H-help him with w-whatever h-he n-n-needed. You four w-were a-always s-so-so close. A-a-and r-r-r-rememb-ber, I w-want y-you t-t-t-to be the n-n-n-n-next M-m-m-mandalore. N-now g-g-go, m-my s-son." As Tor Skirata finished his last words, his grip on Jaing's arm slackened, and his head lolled back. And then, Tor Skirata, Mandalore the Righteous, passed away at 68.

Jaing kneeled on the ground, numb in shock at his father's death. Then, he slowly stood up, and saw that the entire Mandalorian army had paused, and even the Republic troopers had paused to watch what exactly was going on. Jaing slowly pulled off the ceremonial Mandalore mask, still preserved from the ancient days of the Mandalorians. He affixed it to his helmet, and slowly picked up his father's dual-beskad. Then, he turned, and howled in fury.

Jaing roared, "I declare myself Mandalore the Vindictive! And I will not rest until I have slain my father's killers!" He bellowed, and charged forward.

The entire Mandalorian army roared in unison, and they all surged forward, with the new, Mandalore the Vindictive leading the charge, slashing, stabbing and roaring his way through the Republic army. Jaing knew in his heart that he had to fulfill his father's wishes. He would do it, or die trying. First, he had to track down his four other brothers.

* * *

Geran landed on Coruscant, and pulled his cloak on, obscuring his face and armor. He pulled off his distinctive helmet, and slowly walked towards the Jedi Temple.

As he walked up the steps, he was stopped by a guard. Though the guard was trained in resisting Jedi Mind Tricks, Geran's strong Force power won out, and the guard let him through.

Geran walked through the doors of the temple. He had a mission to do.

He slowly walked through the temple, nearing his quarters. He was stopped by no one, as the Jedi Temple was full nowadays, and plenty of people walked around in it.

He punched in the number for his room, but suddenly, alarms blared angrily. Geran cursed under his breath. He should have known they would have rigged his quarters. He ignored the alarm, and ignited his lightsaber.

Geran made short work of the door, and leapt through the hole. He needed one thing.

He rifled through his drawers, and found it. Smashing the glass case, he pulled out the lightsaber of his former apprentice, Gufton Kugin. He needed it.

As Geran walked out of his room, guards were ready for him. They immediately charged forward with electrostaves, knowing that all blaster shots would be deflected easily. The caped Mandalorian met them with ease.

He skirted the thrust thrown by the first soldier, and met him with a solid punch to the face. Geran wore the technically illegal Mandalorian crushgaunts. Through Mandalorian metallurgy, these gloves were made of pure beskar, and were famous for their ability to crush anything in its grip, hence, the name, "crushgaunt."

Geran used the force to slam the second guard into the wall, and simultaneously, caused the electrostaff to rocket back at the guard, and used the force to bend it midair, into a U-shape. The staff slammed into the wall, embedding itself deeply, and also trapping the hapless guard there.

Finally, Geran grabbed both of the last two attackers, after dodging their slashes, and threw them aside heavily.

As he started sprinting out of the temple, he felt an odd presence in the Force. He immediately realized what it was.

Rewat Juskan leapt out of a corridor. Geran realized his left arm was cybernetic now.

"Hello Skirata. I've been assigned to bring you to justice, traitor." Juskan said, a smirk on his face.

"What happened to your arm, Juskan?" Geran asked.

"Your late father sliced it off. I made quick work of him." Juskan simply replied.

Geran's eyes flashed with anger, and he roared as he leapt forward, lightsaber blazing.

Juskan's eyes widened, and he barely blocked the attack. Geran soon pulled out his former apprentice's lightsaber as well, and slashed forward with both.

Juskan was skilled, but he was no match for the enraged Mandalorian Master. His yellow lightsaber was a blur as he tried to block Geran's vicious assault unsuccessfully.

Geran immediately realized that Juskan was a practitioner of Djem So, an aggresive form of Soresu, the most defensive style.. It emphasized blocking all of your opponent's attacks, but forcing them to make a mistake with powerful strokes. However, Juskan had no opportunity to attack, as Geran's lightning fast attack was soon overwhelming him.

Juskan collapsed on the floor, panting, and his lightsaber in the ground next to him. Geran stood over him, furious at his father's murderer. However, Geran realized what he was doing, and calmed himself. He holstered his lightsabers, and simply left, leaving the exhausted Juskan on the floor.

Geran slowly walked out of the temple, and sprinted towards his starfighter. He needed to get away, quickly.

* * *

Oooh, Geran's getting himself into a spot of trouble. Who framed Geran? Or did Geran actually commit all of those murders? Where is poor Sitk? And who, where, or what is Gufton Kugin? What happened to Geran's mysterious former apprentice. Keep reading, and you'll find out!

BTW guys, review on your way out. I'd really appreciate it if you review the story. I checked the traffic, and realized a lot of you are reading this but not reviewing. Shame on you all! Review on your way out! (No flames!)


	8. Bounty Hunters, Cyborg Jedi,and the Sith

DISCLAIMER: I checked everywhere, but none of my Christmas presents had Star Wars in them…:(

* * *

Chapter 8: Bounty Hunters, Cyborg Jedi, and the Sith

* * *

The atmosphere in _The Dirty Wookiee, _was one of stench, evil, and too much alcohol. The shady bar's reputation was famous on Nar Shadaa as an especially cutthroat and shady one. The bar was recognized as the worst, among a sea of deadly bars. It was said that "You can't get from one end of _The Dirty Wookiee_ without getting shot, mugged, beat up, or stabbed at least thrice." It was also notorious for being a frequent meeting place of the Bounty Hunter's Clan, a successor to the Bounty Hunter's Guild.

A cloaked figure strode through the milling crowd. He bumped into a large Nikto who angrily stood up and grabbed the figure's cloak.

He roared, "Do you have any idea who I am? I'm Baatu Nogrod, fiercest of the fierce! I-" He gurgled.

The figure had slipped out a beskad and stabbed him three times in the chest. He let go, and the heavy Nikto collapsed on the ground, eyes glazed over.

Only the surrounding people noticed the murder, and even they quietly resumed drinking and talking. The cloaked figure continued on, and pushed open a door at the back of the bar.

A large group of heavily armed people looked up, and a fierce Kaleesh growled at the newcomer.

"Damn it! If you're here for the bounty hunter meeting, you're late, newcomer. Who the hell are you, I've never even seen you before!" He demanded.

The figure pulled back his hood, and unfurled his cloak. Underneath the cloak was a Mandalorian in midnight black armor, tall and majestic.

"My name is Lucarn Zosa. I'm a bounty hunter." The man said simply, as he leaned into a dark corner, nearly invisible.

"Grr, whatever. You're new around here, I can tell. I know all the senior bounty hunters. I'll tell you my name once, and you better remember it, cuz' I sure as hell won't tell you again. If you don't remember, you'll learn soon. I'm Gynaen lak'Betal, warlord of the Kaleesh! The famous Kaleesh, Qymaen jal Sheelal, better known as General Grievous was my great-great-great-great grandfather!" The smug Kaleesh bellowed.

Zosa simply shrugged, and said nothing.

Gynaen ignored him, and continued. "So, there's been a bounty posted by the Jedi Council. They want a "Geran Skirata" dead or alive. Either way, they want some sort of proof of his death, preferably his lightsaber."

A one-eyed Bothan smashed his hand into the table, and roared, "Geran Skirata? Are you crazy? He's a Republic war-hero, and famous for his skills! We're never going to take him down!"

A sleek Cathar woman purred, "Are you getting cold feet, Bost? One Jedi is nothing to us. It matters not whether he is skilled or not, our job is take him out. And, besides, Iheard that the bounty is for 2 million credits."

A ripple of amazement and chatter spread through the crowd. 2 million credits was a staggering amount of money, and enough to supply a man or woman a richly luxurious life until they died.

Gynaen banged his hand on the table. "Silence! I don't give a bantha fodder what he's worth. I'm gonna take him down first, simply because I despise Jedi. Let's go! May the best man win-" he was interrupted by the Cathar woman's growl. He rolled his eyes. "Or woman, win. But be warned! Any slug that gets in my way is gonna get a blaster bolt through their thick skulls!" He roared a Kaleesh war cry, and the entire crowd rushed through the door. Lucarn simply walked out, stealthy as ever. Unlike the fools he had witnessed, he actually knew where to start looking. However, even as he left, another party was preparing for the hunt for Geran Skirata.

* * *

In the whirring and complex Jedi Laboratory, a few medical droids tended to a Quarren Jedi lying on an operating table. The Quarren was heavily bandaged in certain parts, and was covered in scars. The Jedi twitched as he finally regained consciousness. The medical droids stepped back.

Juskan grunted as he finally lifted himself off the operating table. He flexed his mechanical arm, satisfied with the strength. He picked up a piece of duraplast, and swiftly crushed it in his grip.

A medical droid hovered around. "Sir, I would advise you to rest and not participate in any strenuous activity, as your new implants may be damaged. I would suggest you-" He was promptly smashed into the wall by Juskan's Force Push.

Juskan looked through his new bionic eye that replaced his right eye. The Quarren Jedi easily zoomed in and out, and switched between vision functions, from heat-sensing to x-ray, to normal vision.

He then used his newly built-in biocomputer to scan through the HoloNet, and was satisfied by its functionality.

He stood up. After much internal debate, he had undergone cybernetic surgery to replace his left arm, right eye, and install a bio-computer in his brain, all for one purpose.

The Mandalorian had disgraced him, and ruined him. Juskan never let anyone do either to him, not since the incident. Skirata must die.

Pulling on his cloak, he dashed out of the laboratory, and met with the specialized Jedi squadron assigned to help him take down the Traitor Jedi. He would find Geran, and bring back his lightsaber, or die trying. However, unbeknownst to the Quarren, two other groups were also searching for the same target, and finding the Jedi would not be easy.

* * *

In a shadowy fortress, a nexus of the Dark Side of the Force, a cloaked figure walked through a corridor. Statues of every Sith Lord in history flanked the passageway. Guards enclosed in shadows were nearly invisible in the dark edges of the tunnel. They peered at the figure as he walked to a massive door, and pushed it open.

Beyond the corridor was a massive room, flanked with guards, Dark Jedi, and one monumental throne. The throne lay behind a wall of shadows, and only a slightly darker outline of a figure revealed that anyone sat in the throne at all.

The figure, none other than Je'karta, Je'karta knelt in front of the throne. A voice from the throne beckoned.

"Arise, my apprentice. You are now equal to I, Darth Vicinious. And equals do not kneel to one another. Je'karta, you have done well, and that is why you are to become a true Sith Lord. I hereby declare you Darth Revengous, Lord of Revenge. For your final task, you will bring back a Jedi. One you are acquainted, with, I'm sure."

Darth Revengous looked up quickly at the last words of his master.

"Bring me Geran Skirata, alive. Together, we will bring him to the dark side of the Force." The voice rasped.

"But, my lord, he will never do so willingly. How will we do this?" Revengous questioned.

"I'm sure he will. Especially when we threaten to kill his little whelp of an apprentice." The voice cackled as a podium rose from the floor. In the center was Sitk, bleeding and moaning.

"Also, my apprentice, you will not search for the Jedi alone. Take anyone you want from the ranks of the Dark Jedi, or the fortress guards. Good luck my apprentice…." Vicinious finished.

Darth Revengous bowed, and stormed out of the throne room. He knew exactly who he had to turn to find the Jedi. However, finding the Jedi was going to be a much harder task than he had planned, simply because of the clever Jedi's tricks.

* * *

In the shadier sections of Nar Shadaa, a figure made his way through the crowds in the market square, heading towards the docking bays. He wore the distinctive outfit of a Mandalorian. A closer look would have revealed that he carried a lightsaber.

Geran was still no closer to finding out why his blood was found at the crime scenes. However, he did realize, from the HoloNet news that the largest bounty in the galaxy was currently posted for him. However, the description for Geran was a picture of him unmasked, and also a picture of him in his distinctive armor. What the Jedi failed to realize was that Geran had many beskad armor collections. He had simply changed his outfit to one of a different design. Also, the Mandalorian Jedi had also known that the Jedi would be searching for his presence through the Force. However, Geran had been taught how to hide himself in the Force. Using an old technique, Geran dropped himself from the Force, and it was impossible for the Jedi to find him.

Geran walked to his starship, when suddenly, he cursed under his breath. Even though he could not be sensed through the Force, he could still be recognized if a Force sensitive nearby concentrated hard enough. He had noticed a cloaked figure who had revealed his belt. On the belt was a lightsaber. By the manner of the figure, Geran deduced that he was a Sith.

Geran tensed, hoping that he would go unnoticed. No such luck. The figure turned, and bore a path directly towards the Mandalorian.

Geran sighed, knowing that a conflict was inevitable. He turned, and headed towards a shadier part of Mos Eisley, hoping that he could take down the Sith quietly.

However, Geran had no idea who or what the Sith was. If he had known, he would have been better off fleeing.


	9. To Kill A Jedi

DISCLAIMER: Blah Blah Blah, I don't own Star Wars, yeah, yeah, we've been here before.

* * *

Chapter 9: To Kill A Jedi

* * *

Geran lead the Sith to an abandoned docking bay. The docking bay was filled with rusting starfighters, old abandoned stalls, and useless crates filled with junk.

Geran stood with his back to the Sith, as calm as ever. He knew his skills would probably be sufficient to take down the warrior. He stood like an obstinate stone, never moving, and only waiting. Then, the Sith warrior moved to strike.

As soon as Geran heard the lightest rustling of the Sith's cloak, he ignited both his own lightsaber, and the blue lightsaber of his former apprentice, Gufton Kugin. He performed a back flip, slashing at the Sith at the same time.

Instantly, the Sith's hand moved to his belt, and pulled out a lightsaber. Effortlessly, he blocked Geran's strikes with one fluid motion of his crimson lightsaber. However, the force of the impact led him skidding on the ground.

Gripping the ground, the warrior sprang forward, igniting a second blade at the same time. He lunged forward, and Geran sidestepped him, slashing at the same time.

However, the agile Sith man dodged the blow, and flew through the air, rebounding off of an old X-wing at the same time. He glided towards Geran, and unleashed a torrent of Force lightning.

Geran barely blocked the rippling electricity with his dual sabers. He could have blocked it with the Force, but that would alert everyone to his presence.

The Sith knew of this disadvantage, and continued to silently blast the young Jedi Master with one handed bolts of lightning, as he sheathed his lightsabers.

Geran racked his brain for ideas, and soon, one came to him. He reared back, and threw his lightsaber at the Sith.

Quickly, the Sith pulled out a lightsaber pike to block the incoming lightsaber. However, what he failed to realize was that the lightsaber was a decoy.

As the silent warrior blocked the blow, Geran came around from the side, and yelled as he leapt forward, both hands on his lightsaber, ready for an overhead smash.

As Geran smashed down on the Sith's helmeted head, the Sith was smashed backwards.

Geran assumed the warrior was dead, and picked up his other lightsaber, when he heard a hissing chuckle. He whirled around in shock.

The cloaked Sith ripped off his badly dented helmet, revealing a male Nagai with an evil grin spreading.

"Foolish Jedi! Did you really think we would not manufacture our armor to be lightsaber resistant? Now, you have truly unleashed the wrath of a Sith Warrior! I am Reian N'Golllidocanstife, Captain of the Sith Warriors!" Reian hissed.

"Who are Sith Warriors?" Geran questioned.

"We are specially trained warriors of the Sith! We have no allegiance to the Master, and only to the apprentice! We have trained for years since childbirth, mastering the Sith arts and knowledge on how to wield dozens of Sith weapons! And now, Jedi, you die!" Reian growled.

Even as Reian finished, a cloud of black smoke seemed to rise from the ground. Rippling and lapping at Geran, they enshrouded him.

Geran was hit with a sudden sense of nausea and dizziness, and fought the urge to vomit as the noxious fog surrounded him. A voice echoed from somewhere within the fog.

"Do you like it, Jedi? Or should I call you Skirata? That is your name of course. Our pathetic target. This fog is a tactic specific to the Sith Warriors. We call it Darkside Fog. It enshrouds the area, and the more an individual is of the light side of the Force, the more symptoms they feel! It's quite effective towards moronic Jedi such as yourself." Reian cackled.

Geran gagged and staggered around. He knew the suffocating fog would kill him if he did nothing. However, every attempt to escape the fog was met with more of the poisonous substance. Geran realized that he had to use the Force, or die. Gathering up his energy, knowing that it would alert every Force-sensitive and every bounty hunter with a Force gauge in the area, he drew deep into himself, and let loose his power.

Losing his famous calm head, he roared, and exploded with sheer, unbridled and raw Force energy, into a huge Force Maelstrom, a withering torrent of sheer Force energy. Nothing else would be enough to blow away the noxious fumes.

Reian hissed with anger as the maelstrom destroyed his concentration and blew away the fog. Then, the sheer power hit him, and he staggered back, shocked at the sheer amount of Force power within Geran.

Simultaneously, every Jedi in the area flinched at the amount of power radiating from a certain docking bay in Nar Shadaa. The intense power hit everyone strongly.

* * *

A certain Quarren Jedi took great interest at the particular Force profile, and nodded to his squad of Jedi. They dashed to the docking bay.

Rewat Juskan grinned with glee. Now, he would finally be able to exact his revenge on the Mandalorian Jedi.

At the same time, many other sources were noticing the power as well.

* * *

Gynaen's bounty hunter force's Force gauges went wild. The Force gauges were specially designed to detect the concentration of the Force in an area. Also, the gauges could also read the Force profile unique to each Force-sensitive.

Gynaen pulled out his Force gauge, and used the pre-set setting for Geran Skirata. He whipped another Force gauge from the hands of the sleek Cathar femme fatale named Sylvar Bata. She growled, but let him proceed, as she understood what her leader was doing.

Gynaen rumbled with a chuckle. Sylvar's Force gauge, set to the Force profile of the unknown source matched perfectly with the Force profile of Geran's.

He barked at this bounty hunters. "Come on you slugs! We got him!" The assorted 5 or so bounty hunters whooped with glee and followed their leader to the source of the Force maelstrom.

* * *

Geran continued to explode with Force energy, but realizing that the fog was gone, he dropped, and let the energy subside. Panting, he ignited both lightsabers. He turned towards Reian, eyes glowing with the Force. Calm, yet brimming with energy, he silently charged forward, using the Force to bolster himself.

Reian shot forward bolts of lightning, but Geran simply met them with blasts of the Jedi version of Force lightning, Electric Judgement.

Shocked, Reian roared, and an aura of the Dark side of the Force surrounded him, shrouding him in the Dark side of the Force. He leapt forward, preparing to make one huge smash with his spear-like weapon.

On the other end of the docking bay, Geran continued to sprint forward, and adjusted his grips so he could make a huge slash as well.

The two sides closed in. Both tensed for impact, flying through the air with the power of the Force. As they were about to strike, another force flew through the air, and smashed down in between the two combatants, cracking the ground beneath them.

Both Geran and Reian abruptly stopped, and looked at the third combatant. Standing up slowly was Rewat Juskan, grinning at both combatants.

At the same time, 6 bounty hunters dropped from the wall of the building. It was Gynaen's force.

Then, even more bounty hunters on the search for Geran stopped at the gate of the docking bay. It was Bost Tanen, the one-eyed Bothan.

Following Juskan, 10 other Jedi dropped from the rooftops of the nearby buildings. Soon, there were dozens of people in the abandoned docking bay, all looking at each other. Then, Gynaen shrugged and whipped out a blaster, shooting one of Bost's hunters.

Like a starfighter in neutral suddenly jumping to lightspeed, a battle erupted. The bounty hunters all shot at each other, and also attempted to shoot the Jedi. The Jedi were skilled, but under so much fire, 4 quickly went down screaming. Soon, three-way battle between Geran, Reian, and Juskan erupted, each desperately trying to kill the other two. Soon, however, Geran got the upper hand, and pushed Reian and Juskan apart. He ran through the crowd, slashing at everyone who tried to catch him.

Gynaen roared, and leapt forward. He took aim, and fired a timed rocket at Geran, who deflected it with a kick into the crowd. Screams echoed as the rocket went off.

Bost threw a thermal detonator at Geran, who sliced it in half, rendering it useless. Sylvar attempted to use a wrist flamethrower, but Geran cleverly used the Force to make a small vacuum of air around himself, where the lack of oxygen caused the flames to die out. Geran's helmet was oxygenated and airtight as well, so he was able to breathe.

Soon, Geran sprang out of the docking bay, pushing aside crowds of people in Nar Shadaa, and also cloaking himself in the Force. After a few seconds, he was no longer detectable in the Force.

Sprinting to his starfighter in a different docking bay, he jumped in, quickly making preparations to take off. R2-F5 whirred questioningly, but Geran simply answered back in Droidspeak that they had to leave, now.

Geran checked all of his sensors, and made sure that the ship had not been tampered with. Everything was fine. He lifted off, and prepared to make the jump to hyperspace, when a Republic _Liberty_-class Battlecruiser came out of hyperspace. Geran stayed calm even though on the inside he was slapping himself in the face.

Geran had hoped to avoid the battlecruiser, when suddenly, the tractor beam flared on, and trapped him. He could do nothing but wait. However, unbeknownst to him, he was not doomed to arrest aboard the battlecruiser. However, he was under threat by another source.

* * *

Darth Vicinious sat in his dark throne, as he was contacted by a bounty hunter. An armored Mandalorian appeared on the screen in front of him.

"Hello. My name is Lucarn Zosa. I understand that you're looking for a certain Jedi named Geran Skirata. I can give you a few leads, for the right price." The Mandalorian bounty hunter calmly told the Sith Lord.

"Oh? We can negotiate the price later. Right now, I'm listening." Vicinious grinned.

* * *

Geran is in for a boatload of trouble. I hope you guys are happy, two chapters in two days is ridiculous! Hahaha, just kidding, I love to write this stuff. But don't expect too much of it.

I'm starting to work on more drawings, and those should be up in a while.

By the way, I've been reading this excellent story by a friend of mine, Comandante Barricade. He really picked apart my chapters, and helped me a lot, so be sure to check out his story, "Befitting Destinies" Read it!


	10. Temple of Shadows, Part One

Author's Note: Well, sorry about the long absence. I was preeeetty busy. Sorry for the cliffhanger, I know, I know. Buuuut, the chapter was getting really long (kinda) and I wanted to get the chapter in before I went to bed. So, i cut it. Hope you enjoy it, it's a big one! Author's notes will now start at the beginning too!

* * *

DISCLAIMER: I may have been gone for a while, but I didn't pick up Star Wars along the way.

* * *

Chapter 10: Temple of Shadows, Part One

* * *

Geran sat in his starfighter, feeling a growing sense of helplessness as he was roped in towards the massive Republic Battlecruiser. He flicked a few switches, turning on the power, letting the immense capital ship guide him in.

Without turning his head, he spoke to his astromech droid, "Fiver." The little red and black droid was whirring and whistling. "Fiver, make sure you stay safe. For once, don't wander off. Stay here, and don't wander off like you did on Vendaxa, alright?" Geran chuckled as he remembered a rather perilous adventure he had once been on.

As overhanging cranes secured his craft, Geran looked around, and felt an odd sense of déjà vu as he looked around the ship. Then, he saw a familiar-looking Republic admiral standing in front of a legion of Republic troopers. Finally, it hit him: he was being captured by the _GRN Raider, _and the man was none other than Admiral Tyzare.

As he jumped out of the ship, 4 guards immediately swarmed him, cuffed him with stun cuffs, and grabbed his limbs. Geran did not resist, knowing that it was hopeless to resist. He nodded to Admiral Tyzare, who gave a curt nod, and read off the standard Republic arrest rights. Snapping his fingers, Tyzare walked off, and the soldiers carrying Geran followed.

* * *

The soldiers deposited the Mandalorian into the mission control room. Tyzare nodded to the soldiers, who nervously looked at Geran to the admiral, as if doubting that even the wiry Corellian man could handle the famed Mandalorian Jedi. However, as Tyzare nodded again, and motioned with his hands, the soldiers saluted and left. The mission control room seemed quiet and empty with only the Republic Admiral and the Mandalorian Jedi in it.

Tyzare began, "Well, General Skirata. Interesting situation you've found yourself in, isn't it? I think we can introduce you to the rest of our guests?"

Immediately, 8 figures strode out of the darkness of the room. Geran did a bit of a double take. Standing before him were some of his greatest allies.

The first two were Tallisibeth and Frayik. Tallisibeth gave him a crushing hug, while Frayik stood in awe of the tall Mandalorian that had defied death once again.

The next three were close to Gerans's heart. The first was Jaing, who gave Geran a big crushing bear hug, along with Geran's younger brother, Kal-vez Skirata, a Padawan of the Jedi Order. The last of the three only gave Geran a curt nod while looking away. Tall, silent, and grim, Canderous Skirata had never been a talker. Instead, he spoke with his actions, and his actions were never louder than when he was looking out for his 3 younger brothers.

The next figure was a young, handsome and dashing figure clad in green armor, Geran's childhood friend, Zoron Ordo. He embraced Geran, and said, "It's good to see ya again, buddy. Last time on Mandalore was too brief for me."

Finally, the last two nodded towards Geran. It was Gyntiir Tyn-baku, his old Bothan Jedi Master. Now, sitting on the high council, he was in the midst of training a new apprentice. Next to him stood a short, yet powerfully and brutally strong figure. A jaw filled with jagged teeth filled his face, small beady eyes followed the crudely upward turned mouth. Sharp claws designed to rip and tear flexed back and forth. He was a Noghri, a species famous for their assassination and tracking skills. Their sense of smell was so acute they could even smell the bloodline of people. This particular Noghri was no exception. An excellent tracker and fighter, yet possessing a kind heart, Tatragakh was a fearsome warrior on the outside, was a kind, quiet and lover of nature and life on the inside.

Tyzare motioned toward a hoverchair, and Geran sat down, feeling confused at why all of these familiar faces were here in front of him.

Tyzare turned towards Geran, and started, "Now, General Skirata, I'm sure you're confused by this turn of events, so I shall begin. We are all here for a common purpose: that is, we believe that you are completely innocent of any crimes levied against you by the Republic Senate. Furthermore, we are all willing to aid you. I was contacted by Tallisibeth, whom I believe brought us all together. For the remainder of this trip, a droid wearing an imitation of your armor is located in the holding cells. You will no longer wear your standard armor. Instead, you shall wear this Jedi battle armor. And take these ceremonial robes, too. I believe Canderous can fill in the rest of the blanks, especially on our mission itself: to free Commander Zawn, and find out more on the Sith." He nodded, and Canderous stood up, and walked towards the hologram projector.

"Now, about a week ago, we tracked down a Dark Jedi spy. I personally caught him and punched him in the jaw with the Sentinel suit's liquid armor fist. Jaw cracked open like a ripe blumfruit " Canderous rasped, his scratchy bass voice resounding.

"Liquid armor?" Zoron whispered to Geran quietly.

Geran replied without turning his head, "Republic scientists have developed a new type of armor, specifically designed for the Sentinels that is liquid in nature. It hardens into various types of melee weapons, and is known to be resistant to lightsaber slashes. It's extremely versatile, as it can reshape itself. A favorite method among the Sentinels is making a huge fist and smashing it into their target. The wearer feels no pain, and it works like a charm."

"-and after we interrogated him briefly, the coward coughed up his dirty little Sith secrets. We found out that the Sith hold a major temple on their ceremonial planet of Korriban. It's called the Temple of Shadows. We managed to get these schematics of the temple off of him: apparently, even the people themselves, except for the highest Sith, don't know the way around the temple." Flicking a switch, schematics for a gargantuan temple appeared on the hologram projector. He pointed out various positions for the planned assault on the temple, and finished briefly. Afterwards, Master Gyntiir Tyn-baku stood up.

Rumbling, "Of course, the Sith themselves have become more withdrawn then normal. The current Sith Master is only known as Darth Vicinious, yet we know nothing else about him/her. However, reports from our spies among the Sith state that he has taken an apprentice, named Darth Revengous. We are planning on confronting these two Sith in the Temple of Shadows. We were sanctioned to do so by the Jedi Order themselves. And, if we used some Force to conspire a little, bribe a few Senate officials here and there to ensure a certain Sentinel came with us, a certain Padawan, and two other specific Jedi, well, I'm sure that was just some sort of event ordained by the Force!" The old Bothan's eyes twinkled with merriment.

Geran burst into laughter, uncharacteristically, and stopped after much laughing had gone around the entire room. He chuckled, "You bribed the Senate, and used your influence to guarantee who would come on this mission?"

Tyn-baku raised an eyebrow at the comment, "Bribery? I would never steep to so low of a trick!"

Geran raised an eyebrow, and laughed. He then said, "What about that time on Vendaxa? Hahaha, well, hand over the clothing, and I'll go change." Standing up, he headed off.

* * *

Changed, and with the alias of Jedi Master Lorzon Tengax, Geran sat on a _Hawken_-class diver, wearing a sleek, midnight, armored suit specifically designed for high-speed diving. The suits were pressurized, temperature controlled, and filled with oxygen. The Republic used the suits, designated High Speed Stealth Impact or HSSI suits for stealthy espionage missions where stealth was critical.

In conjuction, the _Hawken_-class diver was specifically designed to allow cloaking features, high speed flying, and featured a unique function: It could fly in any direction, as the diver was designed as a disk, and divers would drop out of the bottom. The feature allowed for sudden maneuvering, and the people inside were actually in a small chamber that could spin around like a gyroscope, so the people inside always felt like they were going forward. Although disorienting, the ship worked perfectly.

A dive master, in charge of supervising the dives, nodded at Geran. He looked around at the other Jedi and his brothers, and closed his eyes. He fell forward, arms crossed in front of him.

The air reached out, and received the falling warrior. As he opened his eyes, he could see many other people falling through the skies, dressed in the lighter, weaker, and less expensive Republic Trooper HSSI variant. The suit had less features, and was less protected. That way, the Republic could afford to cloth their soldiers in a proper protective armor yet ensure that their more "important" agents stayed safe.

Geran reached the so-called "safe" zone, and the suit activated, firing a large plume of fire underneath him, starting as a trickle, then slowly growing larger and larger. That way, the descent of the diver slowed down gradually, ensuring that the diver did not black out from the sudden rapid upward propulsion.

As Geran looked down, he finally noticed the structure below him. It was a truly an awe-inspiring structure. The massive temple sprawled out every which way below him, and Geran truly understood why this structure was called the Temple of Shadows.

The temple was built into the side of a cliff, so the structure was in a constant shadow, in line with the Sith's shadowy ways. The sprawling temple was cleverly designed, as the only way in was through the main entrance. According to the Jedi Archives, the walls were made of pure Mandalorian Iron, 4 feet thick. The main entrance's hallway was supposedly guarded with vicious Sith creatures, from rakghouls to terentateks.

Geran landed with a jarring impact, and winced. Evidently, the armor was not perfectly refined, as impacts were a bit rough. Geran shakily stood up, and looked towards the entrance. It was very nearby he thought.

"Odd. You would think they would have SOMETHING guarding the outside. Very, very odd…." Geran thought to himself. Then, he heard it.

A sound of a large object hitting the earth made Geran have a mental jump, though he showed no sign of change. Slowly, his hand moved towards his belt, and then he whirled around, igniting his lightsaber.

A blur of green matched his blade of blue. Geran had nearly decapitated Tallisibeth, who barely blocked the blow. He relaxed, and apologized, as he prepared to remove his HSSI suit. The _Hawkens _would come in afterwards, and pick them up. They were too valuable to risk on the mission.

As the rest of the party landed, Geran glanced back, watching the group of Jedi, Mandalorians, Sentinel, and mostly Republic Elite Troopers. He saw the former Lieutenant Fhen of Blaze Company, who had been transferred to the Republic Elite Troopers for his excellence.

Geran nodded as Gyntiir led the party forward. They marched towards the main entrance. The doors were intricate, and the three Masters stepped forward. The spy had told the Republic how to open the doors of the temple. It required 3 Masters to simultaneously use an advanced version of Force Push.

Even as they applied the Force, the doors whirled open, in response to the technique.

It seemed too quiet for the hallway. Then, a sound of low growling could be heard. Then, another growl. And another, and another. Then, 6 creatures sprang out of the darkness. They resembled feral, mutated dogs. They were the vornskr, a type of usually nocturnal canine creature that hunted with the Force. They were ideal for the Temple of Shadows, as the shadows replicated night, and also because they hunted Force-sensitives.

The Jedi all simultaneously ignited their lightsabers, slashing the snapping creatures in half. They proceeded carefully, slowly, and cautiously, until Tal-vez stepped on a certain floor tile…

The walls of the dark corridor opened up, rumbling and grinding. As the infiltration team wildly looked around with their head-mounted flashlights, a scream echoed through the hallway. Geran winced. The hallway elevated the noise levels of every sound, and returned the echo like a twisted version of what it once was. However, Tatragakh was much more interested in the smell, not the noise.

"That was one of the troopers. The smell…..it is the vornskr!" his inquisitive eyes widened. Even as he finished, a snarling animal leapt out of the darkness.

However, it was slammed into the wall. Sprouting out of its limp body were three deadly knives. Tatragakh sheathed the rest of them, and pulled his knives out of the twitching body.

However, blaster bolts echoed through the hallway. Geran thought, in retrospect, maybe it wasn't such a good idea for the Jedi to scout ahead.

Sprinting through the hallway, he ignited his lightsaber. Instantly, three vornskr howled in pain at the bright light. An idea burst into life in Geran's brain.

He roared, "Turn on all of your lights! Anything! Just do it!" After a brief pause, dozens of lights sprouted into luminosity, and the snarling hunters were reduced to whimpering dogs that yipped and ran away from the bright lights.

Lieutenant Fhen staggered forward, covered in blood. He supported another trooper, who had had his armor pulled off by the creatures. Slowly, the rest of the battered troopers came forward. Zoron, Jaing, and Canderous formed the rear. They were unhurt. Zoron blew the tip of his smoking blaster. "Takes more than some mangy mutts to put down a Mandalorian, eh Ge-, I mean, Tengax?" Zoron corrected himself quickly.

Raising an eyebrow, Geran shook his head, but secretly chuckled on the inside. He turned, and headed forward, the group now forming a more cohesive bunch.

* * *

Geran staggered out of a gaping chamber into a larger hallway. He was covered in scratches and bites from various animals, such as the vornskr, a few terenatateks, and various other animals that the Sith kept in the temple. However, he felt that it was odd that he had not encountered any human foes so far. Lookin around, he saw a hallway filled with statues of various Sith lords, most of them familiar. The hallway was cleverly designed. It was lit, yet contained many small alcoves branching off that were filled with shadows. Looking around, the sneering looks, and refined statues seemed to be everywhere, looking down upon Geran and the infiltration team. As Geran stretched, a booming noise made him jolt upright, wondering what it could be now.

A voice began to talk. The hallway made the voice echo, as if multiple people were talking at once, each speaking the same words, yet none of them spoke them in the same way. Some were high and squealing. Others were deep and booming. Others were soft and soothing. Some more were sharp and piercing.

"Welcome, welcome, to the Temple of Shadows. I am Darth Vicinious. So sorry to disappoint you, but you are searching in vain. There is not a single sentient being in this temple. Why do you think there were no guards outside? Why there have been no actual guards here? And why do you think you got a map? Why did that spy give over information so willingly? Your questions will all be answered with one sentence: It was on purpose. That spy is currently being broken out of prison right now. He was instructed to give up the information after some interrogation, to lend some more truth to his case. The map was designed to lead you to this room. There is nothing in here, nothing at all. We evacuated the base, simply to trap all of you. We knew the pathetic Jedi would send some of their best here, along with a hefty supply of help. Granted, we don't know how you got here without us noticing, but that doesn't matter. All that matters, is that you are all going to die. Goodbye." The voices faded away. Suddenly, crunching, and the grinding of gears could be heard, as if something very old was coming back to life. As the group looked around, the statues of the Sith Lords came to life.

* * *

Author's Note: Here's a hint to what happens next: Epic Battle, involving lots of old favorites for all of you hardliners out there!


	11. Temple of Shadows, Part Two

Author's note: This chapter's a bit more action-packed and detail oriented. Have fun!

* * *

DISCLAIMER: My name is neither George, nor is it Lucas. My last name DOES start with an L though…

* * *

Chapter 11: Temple of Shadows, Part Two

* * *

In the hallway of shadows, a small group of Jedi, Mandalorians, and Republic Elite Troopers, (RETs) prepared to make a defiant stand as all around them, the statues of past foes came to life.

Slowly, all of the stone statues started to straighten, and move. Soon, all of them stepped off of their pedestals. Their hands went to their stone waists. And strapped to them, were all-too-realistic lightsabers.

Almost instantaneously, they ignited their lightsabers and silently charged.

The infiltration team brought up their weapons, and started firing, or slashing, in the case of the Jedi.

* * *

Tallisibeth leapt forward, igniting her light green lightsaber as she tried to slash a tall, regal man with grey hair. He wielded a curved hilt lightsaber, and swiftly stepped forward before calmly sweeping aside her strike. On his chest was inscribed, "Tyranus."

Tallisibeth quickly withdrew, as the power of the man was overwhelming. He delivered slow and steady blows onto the defenses of the female Jedi. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Master Gyntiir having problems of his own.

* * *

A grotesque Zabrak statue, a man with small horns on his head, charged towards Master Gyntiir. His face was tattooed in Sith art, and he wielded a fearsome double-bladed lightsaber, slashing and leaping about in a refined acrobatic style of fighting. On his chest was inscribed the name, "Maul."

The Master Jedi brought up his lightsaber in a quick block, and continued to do so, as he waited for his opportunity to strike. He knew that the famed Zabrak Sith had made mistakes all the time.

* * *

Tatragakh, Frayik, and Tal-vez banded together as a bald figure with long grayish blue tattoos on his face, and a cybernetic jaw. He swooped down at Frayik with a ferocious one-handed cut.

The young Padawan bravely blocked the blow with a double-handed block. As they engaged in a saber-lock, the statue screamed at him.

The scream was long, loud, and piercing, and Frayik dropped to the ground, whimpering. In the meantime, Tatragakh whipped three knives at the statue, but they were destroyed with a torrent of lightning. Tal-vez yelled for help at his brother, Jaing, but he was busy as well.

* * *

The seasoned Mandalorian Protector/famed bounty hunter had teamed up with his brother, Canderous. Standing next to each other, they faced a pale man with a few red tattoos on his face. He was bald, and oddly, wielded a cortosis shield along with a lightsaber. On his chest was inscribed, "Desolous."

He roared at the two Mandalorians, and charged, stabbing forward with his lightsaber. Canderous dodged, and smashed forward with his liquid armor suit (LAS.)

The statue hissed, and dodged, slashing down. The suit was dented, and Canderous grimaced in pain. He noticed his younger brother sparring with someone as well.

* * *

Elsewhere, as the group became separated, Geran encountered a tall, handsome man with a dual-bladed lightsaber that was oddly, blue. He had a strange symbol on his forehead, and walked with an air of arrogance. On his chest was inscribed, "Exar Kun." As he leapt towards Geran, he slashed down, augmenting his power with Sith Alchemy, an old Sith form of the Force that used spells to devastating effects.

The Jedi Warrior blocked the blow with a powerful uppercut of his own. The air seemed to ripple as the two mighty warriors clashed…

* * *

Darth Tyranus unleashed a torrent of lightning towards Tallisibeth, who blocked it with a deft slash of her lightsaber. She dashed forward, and leapt through the air, blocking the lightning, as she returned with a powerful Force Push.

The statue was smashed against the wall, in an earth-shattering collision. Before he could recover, Tallisibeth leapt forward, and implanted her lightsaber in the statue's chest.

Tyranus's head lolled forward, like a puppet with its strings cut. Then, dark shadows seemed to fly out of his mouth and eyes, as the Sith Alchemy that had fueled the statue fled the now ruined body.

* * *

Elsewhere, Master Gyntiir was dueling with the unpredictable and agile Maul. He could barely block all of his blows, as the dual-bladed lightsaber of his enemy was severely unpredictable.

However, Geran had learned his intuition in battle from his master. Even as the old Bothan blocked yet another flying slash, he realized that, while his acrobatic foe was very skilled in lightsaber combat, he rarely used the Force. Also, he was arrogant, and seemed to gloat about any and all blows.

Gyntiir used this to his advantage. After a particularly powerful blow from his opponent, he fell down, and dropped his lightsaber, pretending to pant heavily.

The Zabrak Warrior laughed, a harsh, grinding noise filled with pain and anger. As he raised his lightsaber up for one more downward stab, he laughed.

At this moment, Master Gyntiir used the Force to summon his lightsaber. Simultaneously, he whipped it around with the Force, slicing the statue in half.

The shocked warrior seemed to teeter for a minute, and then collapsed into two halves. The dark shadows in his body fled, leaving the statue a blank, glassy-eyed body. The tired old Bothan looked around while fetching his dark green saber. He was about to intervene in his Padawan's fight, but then realized that they were winning.

* * *

Malak slammed his lightsaber down onto Tatragakh's, roaring with anger. At the same time, Tal-vez and Frayik came from the back, slashing.

The statue whirled around, a storm of a spinning lightsaber. Frayik cried out as Malak found his target. His lightsaber slashed against the young Rodian's lightsaber, battering it away. His aim became a little lower, and in the process, slashed off his hand.

Screaming, and clutching his hand stump, Frayik fell to his knees, whimpering. The massive figure of Darth Malak stood over him, preparing to kill the bothersome young Rodian, once and for all.

As he was about to attack, he stiffened. The tips of five knife blades and two lightsabers could be seen from the front of his chest. He toppled down, scrabbling at his chest. After one last screech, dark wraiths seemed to fly out of his convulsing body. Then, he grew quiet, and very, very still.

Tatragakh and Tal-vez pulled up their wounded friend, and also retrieved their weapons from the statue of Malak. They collapsed on the ground afterwards, exhausted. However, Tal-vez bolted upright, noticing his brothers fighting intensely.

* * *

Jaing shot rapidly at the hissing Desolous, who hid behind his massive shield. As the ancient Sith charged towards the Mandalorian, Canderous came around from behind, and fired a few blasts at the raging warrior.

The Pau'an Sith ignored the blasts, and ignited his lightsaber. Jaing unsheathed his beskad swiftly.

Blade clashed against blade as the two warriors sparred. Desolous, while a powerful Sith in his own right, was humbled by the Mandalorian, renowned for his quick and aggressive beskad use.

However, no matter how skilled Jaing was, Desolous was even more so. The Pau'an warrior had slaughtered thousands of Jedi, and was only brought down after a fearsome battle with the Jedi Council.

Canderous came to save the day though, when he fired an accurate blast that hit the Sith in the back. He arched his back in pain, as Canderous dashed in, changing his right hand into a huge blade. He lunged forward, stabbing the Sith in the back.

At the same time, Jaing stabbed forward with his beskad, piercing through the cortosis shield, and into the Sith himself, declaring, "Beskar beats cortosis, Sith bastard."

The Pau'an screamed, as the Sith Alchemy fled his body. He collapsed, as Jaing and Canderous nodded at each other.

* * *

The Temple was still filled with the sounds of battle however, as Geran clashed with Exar Kun. Both were at the peak of their power. They had created a huge, Force bubble that nothing could enter. The massive dome encased part of the hallway, blocking any outsiders. The hallway of shadows was showered in light as the bubble radiated light.

Geran had slashed his foe's lightsaber in half, and had also pulled out his other lightsaber. They were each using their respective sides of the Force to augment their battle, and were both using dual blue lightsabers, as Kun's lightsaber still functioned.

The speed of the fighting was unrivaled, and it seemed as if 8 blades were moving through the air instead of four. Exar Kun was one of the most, if not the most, powerful Sith of all time. Geran was an immensely skilled Jedi, and although still young, possessed an enormous amount of Force potential.

Finally, the four blades came together in an intense saber-lock, Exar snarling in rage, and Geran near the breaking point as well. However, Geran knew he could not give in to his anger, lest he fall to the dark side, and have his identity revealed.

Kun broke the saber-lock, and in his extreme anger, threw one of his lightsabers at Geran.

In his calm mind, Geran knew that Kun had made his first mistake. The anger had clouded his mind, and the Mandalorian Warrior knew that the battle was his.

Dodging the wild throw, Geran sliced the lightsaber hilt in half, midair. Leaping forward, he used the Force to lift Kun up, and smash him against the wall.

Kun, with eyes of burning fury, leapt forward, and met Geran's slash. However, he only had one lightsaber, and as Geran blocked with one saber, he plunged his other blade into the fallen Jedi's neck.

Falling to his knees, Kun gurgled, and scrabbled at his neck as the light faded from his eyes. His arms soon fell to his sides, and he fell forward, the shadows leaving his body.

Geran collapsed, panting. He had used an unbelievable amount of energy in the fight. As he shakily stood up again, he was supported by Tallisibeth.

* * *

Even as the infiltration team began to relax, the ominous voice from before returned. "Congratulations indeed. These statues are known to be about ¾ as powerful as the originals. Oh, but it looks like you've had heavy losses. How sad. Just about as sad as the fact that we've just released thousands of vornskr. Goodbye."

The battered group had indeed suffered heavy losses. The troopers were decimated, and everyone had suffered wounds. Frayik had lost his arm, Tallisibeth was severely burned from lightning, Gyntiir had suffered several deep gashes, and so on.

However, no matter how serious the wounds were, all sounds were drowned out by the sound of barking and hissing. The vornskr were coming.

Geran's eyes widened, and he roared, "Follow me!" He dashed out of the hallway, as the wounded infiltration team raced after him.

* * *

The shadows seemed to leap out at Geran, and he realized that the temple truly was a Jedi's nightmare. Rasping voices called out to him, beckoning him to stray from the path. He ignored them all, and kept running.

Strange Force apparitions appeared to him, deadly foes, and monstrous beasts leaped out towards him. The Jedi paid them no heed, though he could tell that some of the weaker troopers had fallen prey, only to meet their dooms.

The team had caught up to the Master, and Zoron shot at a few vornskr that had arrived. Geran kept running.

As they neared the entrance, Geran realized that the vornskr were in front of him as well. He ignited both his lightsabers, and slashed, each blow ending with the scream or hiss of a dying vornskr. He continued to slash and stab, and burst out of the main entrance, collapsing 50 feet from the door.

As the rest of the team dashed out, Geran made sure no one was still in the temple, and used the Force to slam the doors shut, just as a snarling vornskr reached the door, teeth bared.

* * *

The battered infiltration team got up. Using a signal, Lieutenant Fhen signaled for their _Hawkens _to return. As they speedily returned, Geran staggered onto the ship, and collapsed into a nearby chair.

As he closed his eyes, he heard his old friend Zoron talking.

The young Mandalorian bounty hunter remarked, "Well, that was certainly interesting, right, guys?"

* * *

Author's note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, guys! I'll be gone for a while, so I made sure to have two whole chapters for all of you to read through. I'll try to get back as soon as I can!


	12. Battle of Korriban

Author's note: Uhh, yeah….um…really just trying to stall for a few more words here… BTW, this is my first chapter to break 3000 words, so hurray for that! It's actually over 4000 words, so woohoo!

* * *

DISCLAIMER: I'm a tall guy, but Star Wars is always out of my reach.

* * *

Chapter 12: Battle of Korriban

* * *

Geran relaxed as his _Hawken_ finally docked back into the _Raider._ He had appeared to be calm as a still pool of water, but in his mind, he was sweating blaster bolts as he tried to think of any possible traps that the Sith might've set up.

However, as he docked, he was relieved, because no matter what kind of trap the Sith might've set up, they couldn't assault three Republic _Liberty_-class, could they?

Suddenly, a red alarm blared, and a droning voice came over the speakers, "5 Imperial Star Destroyers, heading our way. Battle stations, battle stations."

Geran groaned, and slapped his face. Couldn't he ever have a quiet day? Tiredly, he headed back towards the hanger.

* * *

Geran grabbed a special Force-sensitive helmet for Jedi, designed to allow the Jedi to control their flight with their minds if necessary. Looking around, he quickly spotted a spare fighter. He obviously couldn't use his normal one, for fear of being exposed by the normal pilots.

The Mandalorian had been trained from a young age in fighter piloting. Tor had trained him well from a young age, and Geran was recognized as an extremely capable pilot. However, due to Tor's rather reckless nature, the Jedi was known for his rather unorthodox methods of flying. The Warrior Jedi had never cared much. After all, he wasn't exactly a traditional Jedi.

He strapped himself into a standard choice for Jedi, the L-56 Starfighter from Coruscantian StarSystems. Shaped like a bullet with two X-wing like wings, it was known for its heavy firepower and durability.

Immediately launching, he tapped into the private Jedi network of radio. He found the other Jedi from the _Raider_ already in the fray.

"Late as usual, my former apprentice." Gyntiir's voice came crackling over the radio.

"Hey, it's a bit hard to get in the skies in this old clunker. I would prefer to have my normal ship." Geran retorted.

"If you had your normal ship, three million bounty hunters would be trying to pry open your cockpit with their bare hands." Gyntiir admonished.

"If I had my normal ship, I would use the cloaking option to scare them all, and then Fiver would shoot them all with his hidden laser." The Mandalorian replied, pulling into a severe dive.

"You gave Fiver a hidden laser? What other weapons have you stashed in there?" Gyntiir questioned.

"A few other knick-knacks. That little droid always gets into the most ridiculous situations. Where did you put him, anyways?" The Jedi replied.

"With the other astromechs. Where else would I place an astromech?" Gyntiir replied.

"Fiver? With other astromechs? Alone? He probably has half of them dead by now, from all of his adventuring! It's Fiver we're talking about here! Remember what happened on Vendaxa?" The Warrior Jedi yelled.

Gyntiir paused. "In retrospect, it WAS a bad idea."

"Master Gyntiir, no offense, but that was a pretty bad idea. Vendaxa was by far the worst experience of my entire life." Tallisibeth chimed in.

"Quiet, both of you! Back to work! Swarm of enemy TIE Predators!" The old Bothan admonished

The TIE Predator was nicknamed an "eyeball" by the Republic forces. It resembled the original TIE Fighter's central piece with two triangular wings attached to it. They were highly deadly, as they featured stronger shields, more durability, and even hyperdrives.

Geran quickly strafed through the squadron of Predators, eventually flying closer and closer to a single TIE Predator: The captain of the squadron. He flew closer and closer, harassing the fighter, and forcing it to go further and further away from the rest of the fighters.

Soon, he was far away from the others, and the Mandalorian Jedi gave chase.

Up and down, side-to-side, everywhere the TIE Predator went, Geran was quick to follow. However, he soon closed in, and Geran pressed the trigger, firing off a few rounds of bolts towards the lone fighter.

Exploding in a small shower of light, Geran congratulated himself, and continued to hunt down other fighters.

* * *

However, although the fight for the fighters was going well, Admiral Tyzare was not having nearly as good of a day. He was outnumbered 2-to-1, and although his ships were much better than the Imperials, the sheer amount of them was slowly picking away at the Republic Fleet's defenses.

"Turn all forward turbolasers to face to enemy! You! Divert power from all nonessential systems toward the port side shields! Fire Sector 40 torpedoes!" The wiry Admiral barked, pointing at various people from his bridge.

"Sir! Shields at 40% power!" A young petty officer yelled.

Tyzare swore. He picked up his comlink linking to the other admirals. He was a fleet admiral, and held authority over them all.

"Admirals Riane and Curtie! Concentrate firepower on the ship closest to us! When we blow it out of space, fire on the next one!" He roared.

"Yes sir!" The two admirals replied. Tyzare grunted, and got back to work.

"Fire all proton torpedoes at their bridge!" The Corellian barked. "Don't just stand there, go!"

The maneuver was risky, because although it could destroy the entire ship by killing most of its senior officers, the bridge was a small target, though often unprotected.

Petty Officer Rip Thoren shrugged, and yelled into his comlink, "Direct all proton torpedoes towards the bridge of the closest ship!"

"Shields at 30% power!" The same young petty officer nervously cried out. Tyzare simply muttered, "Steady your aim, steady, steady."

"Sir! Proton torpedoes ready to fire, sir! On your command!" Officer Thoren reported.

"May the Force be with us…FIRE!" Tyzare barked.

Streaking out of the ship, leaving behind bluish contrails, the torpedoes flew through space, closer, and closer.

The Star Destroyer's guns kicked in, and started firing. One by one, the torpedoes started to explode in the sky.

Tyzare swore again, cursing everything, enough to make a sailor blush.

However, a few proton torpedoes made it through the cloud of fire, smashed through the bridge, and exploded inside.

Instantly, the entire bridge exploded in a shower of sparks and burning bodies. The entire ship, now captainless, and without most of the major systems controlling it, now pitched forward, and dropped towards the planet of Korriban.

The entire bridge of the _Raider_ burst into applause and cheered, but Tyzare swore and barked. "It's not over yet! We still have 5 more ****ing ships to worry about!"

Under the steely gaze of Admiral Sarewyn Tyzare, the bridge calmed down. They still had more ships to worry about.

* * *

Geran dodged a swarm of proton torpedoes from a Predator, and did a barrel roll, dodging a few more.

He looped, and came directly behind the hapless fighter. It was gone in mere seconds.

Geran had counted 8 kills so far. It was a good day. However, Tal-vez's voice came over the radio network.

"Got 9 so far! Bet I can get more than you!" Tal-vez declared.

"Alright hotshot. Let's see how you do." Geran retorted, shooting down another Predator.

On and on, the two Mandalorian brothers fought countless swarms of Predators. Soon however, it was clear that Geran had more experience, and was the better fighter.

Tal-vez yelled, "Oh yeah? Watch THIS!" He instantly pulled into a sharp climb, and started streaming towards an enemy Star Destroyer.

"What are you-" His older brother started before being silenced by his younger brother.

The young Mandalorian flew through squadrons of Predators, shooting down a few of them, and dodging the rest. He slowly got closer and closer to the Star Destroyer's bridge.

Rolling, he swooped, and fired 4 proton torpedoes. They streaked through the air, and smashed into the bridge.

Immediately, the entire Star Destroyer pitched forward, unfortunately for them, crashed into another Star Destroyer nearby. Both ships exploded, and burning pieces of the ships fell towards Korriban, inciting cheers from all of the Republic forces.

Geran was shocked. Never before had he seen such a move. He quickly yelled, "That only counts as one kill!"

* * *

Cheers went all around the bridge of the _Raider _as the two Star Destroyers were reduced to burning wrecks.

Even Tyzare had to smile, and he declared, "Give that man a medal!" He smiled and cheered with the others.

However, Officer Thoren abruptly stopped cheering, and yelled, "Boarders!"

Tyzare felt a chill go down his back. Boarders. One of an admiral's worst nightmares. He roared, "I want two companies of Marines to repel those boarders, on the double! Back to work! Jennings! Tell Admiral Curtie to-aaaugh!"

At the window of the bridge, the _GRN Windchaser_ under Admiral Curtie had been hit hard in the engines, and was plunging towards Korriban.

The admiral swore, and barked, "Nevermind! Curtie is having problems of his own, apparently! Tell Riane to redirect fire towards that lead ship's engines! Genti! What's the status on the shields?"

"Sir, only 3% 2, no 1, no, no, no, SIR! The shields are down!" The inexperienced Petty Officer reported, horrified.

"Damnit! Betra! Send four, no six, repair crews down to see what they can do about the shields! Get me on the Jedi radio network, on the double!" The Corellian roared.

"Generals Tyn-baku, Tengax, and Suntek! See what you can do about those boarders, now! We have to end this quickly!" He ordered.

Geran's voice crackled over the radio. "Lorzon Tengax here. We'll see what we can do."

* * *

Geran rolled towards the sector where the admiral had told him the boarders were likely to penetrate.

Instantly, he saw them. A swarm of _Isard_-class boarding craft were streaking towards the ship. It was a joke among the Imperials that the _Isards_ would pry open ships, like the old Imperial Intelligence Director, Ysanne Isard would pry open prisoner's heads for information.

Geran ordered his squadron to follow him, and they wove through the boarding craft shooting them down.

However, Geran's small squadron was not nearly enough to take out so many ships. Geran watched helplessly as they remaining craft neared the ship.

The boarding crafts soon smashed into the Raider. They were ideal for boarding any vessel. Shaped like a lightsaber's hilt, they had airtight seals that would attach to a ship. Using huge fusion cutters, they cut a hole into the ship, and the stormtroopers would pour in.

Tyzare's voice came through the radio. "I need some of you to land, quickly! Make your way to the battle, they're starting to overwhelm us!" Hurry, we're not gonna make it if you don'!"

An old Bothan voice crackled over the radio. "I'm the closest to the hangar, I'll go. Tallisibeth and Lorzon, watch the young ones and continue the battle! Gyntiir, out."

Geran sighed. He dove after another Predator, feeling helpless as the _Raider_ was possibly being taken right now.

Tyzare's voice came over the radio again. "We can't hold them for much longer! We need someone, NOW!"

With a sense of urgency, Master Tyn-baku said, "I'm not even close to landing!"

The Mandalorian felt a chill run down his back. If the _Raider_ fell, they were all doomed. But, an idea came to him. At first, he dismissed it as being ridiculous. However, he could see no other way out of this.

"Gold Squadron! Cover me! I'm going in!" Geran radioed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gyntiir cried.

"No time!" Geran pitched his fighter directly towards the area of the boarders. He pulled the trigger, and started firing.

His accurate shots destroyed one of the boarding craft. Using only the Force to guide him, he redirected his shields to the nose of his craft. Then, he rocketed forward.

Exploding forward, he used only the Force to smash into the small area where what little of one of the boarding crafts remained. As he had hoped, his shields were sufficient to smash through, leaving the entire front half of his craft in the ship itself.

Pulling out his lightsaber, he deftly cut a hole through his cockpit, and leapt out of the ensuing hole. Instantly, he blocked several blaster shots from the invading stormtroopers.

Quickly, he flipped in the air, and came down with a slash, slicing 4 stormtroopers in half. He continued to block rounds, and deflected them, killing more of the stormtroopers.

He made his way towards a site where it seemed that most of the stormtroopers were. They were, thankfully, facing away from him. Looking over them, he saw that they were engaged in battle with a small group of Republic marines.

Geran charged forward, yelling, "Attack!" He promptly sliced a few stormtroopers in half, and beheaded another. The marines cheered, and fired upon the now chaotic stormtroopers. On one side, the rallying marines fired a hail of blaster bolts. On the other, the Mandalorian Warrior cut down any stormtrooper in sight.

Whirling about, Geran sliced the arm off one soldier, and continued the stroke, beheading another. Twisting his lightsaber, he cut another man in half from groin to head. Then, he reached out with the Force and smashed another two into the wall, breaking their necks.

After a bloodbath, many bodies lay on the ground, nearly equal amounts of both side. The marines were nearly decimated when the stormtroopers had unleashed miniguns inside the narrow hallway. However, Geran's arrival had saved them, and there were no reports of any other stormtroopers. The Mandalorian Jedi wiped his forehead clean of sweat, and said into his comlink, "Beat that."

* * *

Although Tyzare was glad that the boarding threat was gone, thanks to another one of the Mandalorian Jedi's crazy stunts, there was still one more Imperial Star Destroyer. And unfortunately for the Republic forces, it was also the largest.

The _Godspeed_-class Star Destroyer was a newer model, and famous for their durability and firepower. They were notoriously hard to take down, and also featured heavy shields.

Tyzare roared into his comlink, "I don't care! I want you to re-deploy yourselves onto the other side of that ship! Just do it Riane, I don't care if your goddamn shields are low, ours have gone out twice! Just do it!"

Muttering about incompetent admirals, he barked, "Are the boarding parties ready?" He snapped at Officer Thoren.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The young man snapped to attention.

"Good! Deploy them, now!" He nodded.

"Now, here's the plan! We are deploying boarding parties, and so will that idiot Riane! Provide intense covering fire! I want all possible turrets to fire on that ship! I don't care if they're ion cannons, turbolasers, blasters, just anything! Direct 30% of the fire towards their communications relay systems! We don't want them to be able to alert their defenses about our boarders! You! Yes, you, I'm talking to you! 50% of power should go towards their guns! The other 20% is to stop their goddamn fighters and bombers from blasting us to pieces! Get to work!" The Corellian admiral directed, pointing towards various people and making orders.

* * *

Elsewhere, Geran sat inside his boarding craft, along with, ironically, Captain Blitz.

"Hello General Tengax, my name is Captain Hiyu Blitz of Blaze Company. We'll be under your command today." Blitz shook the Jedi's hand, while the Mandalorian felt an odd sense of déjà vu.

Out of a small window, Geran could see similar craft rocketing towards the ship. He could see several more getting blown out of space by the ship's auto-turrets. He could only hope that the same wouldn't happen to him.

A technician stood next to a small computer, and said, "We will impact in 20 seconds."

Geran groaned, "Here it comes, this is my least favorite part about boarding."

Blitz replied, "Why do you say tha-OH GODDAMNIT!"

Republic boarding craft were meant to be efficient and functional, not comfortable. As Sitk had once described, "Ya know, that felt like a huge rancor being shot out of like, an ion cannon, or something. Then, it smashes into you, and you're like smashed smaller than something really tiny!" Indeed, the impact had been extremely jarring, and the soldiers were all groaning with pain.

However, there was to be no rest, and at the push of a button, the craft sliced a hole into the ship. Apparently, the admiral's plan had worked well, and the Imperials had no idea any boarders were coming. In front of them stood a surprised junior officer, mouth agape. His hand went towards his belt, and a pistol, but Blitz was faster.

Quickly, he fired at the man's blaster, shooting it off. He ordered, "On the ground, now! Hands on the head, don't even think about moving!" Blitz motioned with his head, and a few troopers quickly cuffed the hapless officer.

* * *

Moving onwards, Geran and the other soldiers made their way towards the bridge. As they turned a corner, 20 stormtroopers stood, surprised at the sight of Republic troopers.

Instantly, Blitz pulled out his rifle, and so did his men. A streak of blue erupted as Geran ignited his lightsaber. The stormtroopers instantly dropped their weapons, with a clatter, as the soldiers set to work cuffing them.

Mechanically, they cuffed and gagged group after group of officers and troopers. They wanted to capture the ship, not destroy it.

* * *

Even though the mission was going by peacefully, it was inevitable that some groups would not go down quietly.

As the group walked into a larger lounge like room, they met another group of stormtroopers led by an officer. They would not drop their weapons.

Diving for cover, the Republic troopers opened fire. Cries and anguished yells echoed as several Imperials collapsed, clutching still smoking holes in their chests.

However, after taking cover, the stormtroopers opened fire as well. A man next to Geran cursed, and fired at them over the top of an overturned table.

"Sir! We need to do something, or we'll attract so much attention that more of them will arrive!" He said.

The Mandalorian replied, "I am well aware of that. I've got a plan. Barely peeping over the table, he used the Force to pull a blaster off of a dead Republic trooper. Guiding it, he lifted it up with the Force, and pulled the trigger, facing towards the stormtroopers.

Firing, the gun looked like it was being controlled by a ghost. With no one to aim at, the terrified troopers were being gunned down without a chance. The rest of them soon threw down their weapons, terrified at the phantom blaster.

Blitz snapped his fingers, and nodded. The soldiers got to work cuffing them.

* * *

Later, as the boarding party got closer and closer to the bridge, the number of enemies increased.

By the time they reached the door of the bridge itself, they had just taken down a group of almost 60 stormtroopers. Luckily, they had rendezvoused with another boarding party, and repelled the attack. As far as they knew, the officers inside had no idea what was going on. However, if they did, the boarding party was doomed, as they were sure to have come up with a trap.

Geran nodded at Captain Blitz, who nodded at a technician. The technician immediately started to hack into the ship's mainframe, and tried to open the door.

Instantly, the blast doors hissed open quickly. Blitz and the Jedi Warrior stormed in, leading the group.

Blitz barked, "Down on the ground, all of you!" He surprised the bridge officers, who were standing, mouth agape. A few of them had managed to pull their blasters out of their holsters partially, but they soon realized that the situation was hopeless.

One by one, they came up to Blitz, and dropped their weapons. After a while, the entire bridge was weaponless and cuffed. Geran made his way to the weapons terminals and shut off all weapons. Then, he had an idea.

* * *

"What do you mean we're out of tibanna gas for the turrets?" Tyzare roared into the face of a junior officer.

Wincing, he stammered, "S-sir, we didn't k-know we'd be on a combat mission, so we neglected to fill our tibanna gas cartridges to maximum capacities."

"Damn it! What the hell is wrong with you! Always max out on tibanna gas, we need it to fire our weapons! Now our only hope is the boarding party!" The admiral roared.

"Incoming transmission sir! It's from the ship!" An officer cried out.

"Damn! Without that tibanna gas, we can't fire our weapons!" He cursed. "Play the transmission!"

A voice came over the transmission system. "We have captured your boarding party. Prepare to die, Republic fools. We know you're shield systems are low. And you've stopped firing, so something is obviously wrong. Now you will witness the power of the Empire!"

The Star Destroyer kept coming closer and closer to the ship. It became so close that the people in the two bridges could almost see each other. Then, the cannons of the Imperial Star Destroyer started to warm up, as evident from their vibrating. The ship kept coming closer.

Tyzare thought to himself, "This is it. This is where it all ends. One broadside to the bridge, and it's all over. Goodbye Mariane, my wife. Goodbye Tyko, my son. Goodbye Wenti, my daughter. Goodbye all. And goodbye Geran. I'm sorry we failed you."

Then, the cannons abruptly stopped charging. Tyzare looked more closely, and realized that he could see the other ship's bridge. Then, he exploded into a fit of cursing and swearing. On the other bridge, Geran was waving and laughing at his little prank.

"That f***ing little bastard! I'm going to f***ing strangle him to death with my f***ing bare hands!" Tyzare roared, furious while the entire bridge erupted into laughter and cheering. The Battle of Korriban was over.

* * *

Author's note: Hi people! I know I said I would probably be gone, but plans changed, so here's chapter 12! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!


	13. Lucarn Zosa

Author's note: We'll be taking a short break from Geran to focus on everyone's favorite mysterious bounty hunter, Lucarn Zosa.

Also, I'm sorry for the long time away, but the site wouldn't let me upload any chapters. This is going to be the last chapter for a while. (sorry!)

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Twinkle twinkle little Star Wars, How I wish I could own you…

* * *

Chapter 13: Lucarn Zosa

* * *

Tyzare furrowed his brow at a slip of paper he was reading. He sighed, and then set it down. He would never understand the Mandalorian Jedi.

On the note, Geran had written, "Since the trail was false, I'm striking it out on my own to track down the Sith. I'm sure they framed me, and it's the only hope I have to clear my name. In case you need to contact me, I've included 3 communicators. Please distribute them between Admiral Tyzare, Master Tallisibeth, and my brother, Jaing."

The Corellian admiral glanced down at the communicator in his hand. He put it in his breast pocket, and then yawned, as he wondered how he was going to tell everyone that the Mandalorian Jedi had escaped. It would not be fun, and would result in great shame for him. But, the Jedi had saved his life, and he had to repay the debt to Skirata.

* * *

Lucarn Zosa had always been a solitary man. Enigmatic, and loath to reveal secrets, he had just made a deal with a Sith Lord. He didn't want them to be able to track him, so he had contacted them through a network encryption signal. If they tried to track him, it would bring up one location while he was actually in a different one, Zosa had never been one to tread carelessly.

He had given information to the Sith Lord regarding the Jedi, Geran Skirata. He told them that he had seen the Jedi on Nar Shadaa, and followed him carefully.

Next, the Mandalorian Hunter had said in great detail, "I attached a homing device to his starfighter. The beacon was also rigged to detect heat signals from the starfighter. The greater the signal, the faster the plane is moving. Just a moment ago, the heat signal died off, but the plane is still moving. I hacked into the Republic Space Traffic Control, and found that one Republic Battlecruiser was in the area. The sector of the battlecruiser matched up perfectly with the sector the fighter was traveling to. He's on the ship. If you're careful, you can track him down and set a nice trap. Now, I want 1 million credits. It wasn't easy. If the credits aren't delivered, I'll destroy the homing beacon. If they're delivered, the beacon is yours."

The shadowy Sith had paused for a moment, then laughed. "You're a tricky one, Zosa. I rather like it. We're wiring the credits now to your account. Check it now."

The Mandalorian brought up his bank account, which was now one million credits richer. Smiling, he said, "The beacon's signal is 43820175892853279. Have fun with your little Jedi."

The Sith replied, "Oh, we will. And Zosa, the Empire could use men like you. Are you interested in a contract deal of 500,000 credits for every contract?"

"I'm listening. What do I have to do?" The bounty hunter crossed his arms.

"We need more commanders. Go out into the field for us. You'll be commanding from the field, and sometimes even in the bridge of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Think of the power you'll have then. You'll be everything, from an assassin to a commander. Every successful assassination, battle, or whatever we need completed is 1 million more credits for you. How does that sound?" The Sith coaxed.

"Interesting. You've got a deal. Where and when do I start?" The bounty hunter said after a few moments. 1 million credits was a huge sum of money, and that much could set him up for life.

"My minions are patching the data to you right now. Do not fail us, Zosa. The consequences for an unexplained loss will be quite unpleasant for you."

* * *

Lucarn Zosa walked through the hallways of a massive _Destruction-_class battle-station. The _Fist of the Empire_ was the largest battle-station known to the Empire, and while it contained no super-weapons like former battle-stations of the Empire, such as the Death Star, it was a formidable foe for the Republic.  
Zosa had docked onto the battle-station for his first assignment. He flashed an ID card at a nearby Guard, who nodded and let him through hurriedly. Attached to the card was the symbol of the Sith Lord, Darth Vicinious, a pair of crossed lightsabers with a skull in front of them. It signified that whomever carried this symbol was a servant of the Sith Lord himself, and was to be feared and respected. Only the Emperor himself had a higher rank.

Strolling through the corridors of the massive battle station, he was redirected to the mission control room. As the bounty hunter walked, he secretly documented the hallways with a camera in his helmet to map out the hallways of the battle-station, just in case he ever needed to get out of there quickly.

Arriving at the door, he showed his ID card to the security droid, who flashed green, and opened the doors. Inside, a group of Imperial officers sat around a conference table, discussing business.

One of them glanced up, and saw Zosa. His eyes widened, and he signaled the guards, "Shoot him!"

Like a bolt of lightning, Zosa whirled out his dual custom modified LPO-X blaster pistols and shot at the stormtroopers, expertly shooting their weapons so they would drop out of the hapless guards' hands. Everyone recoiled in shock, and held their hands up.

Zosa holstered his blasters, and said, "Well, that's quite a welcome. Is this how you greet people in the Empire? Blaster fire?"

A man sitting at the table barked, "Who the hell are you? What are you doing in here?"

Zosa kept his pistol trained on the stormtroopers, and with his other hand, holstered his other blaster and revealed a card with the stamp of the Emperor himself.

"Aha. You must be the bounty hunter. Zosa. We've heard good things about you. I am Grand Moff Norgai Yeltris. And could you please _put the damn blaster down?" _The Grand Moff demanded.

"Of course, _sir._" Zosa said, voice dripping with sarcasm. He holstered the blaster.

One of the officers at the table growled and roared, "I'll teach you a lesson, you insolent swine! Guards! Get him!"

The stormtroopers looked at each other for a second. Then they looked down at their now destroyed rifles. The Captain, wearing a yellow pauldron ordered, "All right troops. Take him down!"

The 16 stormtroopers around the large room charged towards Zosa, who merely changed into a battle stance.

As the first one reached him, Zosa lashed out in a vicious kick, catching the man on his visor. He fell down, dazed.

Zosa turned his attention, and first grabbed the arm of the next stormtrooper and jabbed his hands on various weak points in the man's bulky armor. He convulsed once, and collapsed.

One stormtrooper tried to grab Zosa but his armor was too big and restricted his movements. Zosa merely ripped off his helmet and punched him in his exposed face with his Mandalorian crush-gaunts.

Realizing that their armor, while protective, was useless against the agile Mandalorian and only restricted their fighting, the stormtroopers quickly ripped off their armor. They were now unprotected, but much more deadly.

They charged Zosa from all around, and he kicked, punched, and jabbed any unlucky soul who got too close.

Soon, it was down to just Zosa and the Captain. They brutally sparred, and the Captain went in with a vicious hook.

Zosa merely dodged, and jabbed his hands on various parts of the unprotected man's chest, first on the sternum, then between the ribs, then to various parts of the stomach, his hands flying with speed, and finally, jabbed upwards on the man's armpits.

The Captain gasped, and sank to his knees. He collapsed a moment later.

All around the room, 16 stormtroopers rolled around on the ground, moaning and clutching various parts of their bodies.

The man who had ordered the stormtroopers to attack cowered in fear with huge eyes.

Yeltris glared at the terrified man, and said, "Well, Captain Ozwell, if we're done trying to kill our guest, we can actually have a meeting about Mr. Zosa's first assignment."

Sitting down, Zosa already had an idea in his mind about whom he should probably avoid. And whom he should try to refrain from killing.

Yeltris pressed a button on his remote, and a hologram sprung up. It was a portly man with red skin and horns on his head. They adorned the top of his head like a crown. It was a Zabrak.

Yeltris started, "This is Senator Baba Yasa. He's a traitor to us, the Coalition of Power (CoP), and also to the Republic's coalition, the Coalition of Freedom (CoF). He's a powerful politician, and has also been playing both sides of this war and is reaping the benefits of it. Kill him as soon as possible. That's all. We've equipped a star-"

"No need. I have my own. Hand me a data-chip about his whereabouts, and he'll be dead within 48 hours." Zosa interrupted.

Yeltris nodded, and snapped his fingers. One of the officers handed Zosa a small chip.

Thanking them, Zosa promptly left the room, and the station as well.

* * *

Zosa crouched on the roof of a building. On the street, two stories down was his target, Baba Yasa. He looked at his gauntlets, and flipped through various settings. His gauntlets were outfitted with various weapons, from a hidden knife made of cortosis to a small but deadly hidden blaster, a tiny magnetic grappling hook, a flamethrower, etc. He decided that his hidden blaster would do. It would be better for his escape attempt. When the hired guards of the Senator looked around for the culprit, instead of finding a mercenary with a rifle, all they would see is what appeared to be a man pointing his arm towards the Senator, as if he was alerting people that something had gone wrong.

The problem was, the blaster was not very accurate. He would need pinpoint accuracy. The Mandalorian shrugged to himself. It had never been a problem.

However, it seemed as if the mission was too easy. The amount of guards was uncharacteristically low. Reminding himself to stay on the lookout, he saw the Senator in the middle of his speech.

Raising his arm, and selecting the blaster, he waited. A bead of sweat dripped down his face behind the helmet. Zeroing in on the target, he aimed for the head, as he always did. Then he pressed a button on his gauntlet.

The bolt flew true, and instantly, the Senator collapsed, a gaping hole in his head.

People screamed, and the guards looked around wildly. Zosa chuckled on the inside, and turned. However, he then swore.

Behind him were standing 8 of the Senator's guards. One of them wore the distinct badge of a Mercenary Commander. It was a universal sign, intended for potential clients to hire out groups of mercenaries.

"Good shot, assassin. Unfortunately, this was all planned. Confused? The Empire paid us triple what the Senator was paying us. We arranged for this meeting so we could take you out as well. It seems as if you're not trusted, past dealings with the Republic? I don't know, all I know is that someone is paying a lot of credits to kill you. Stand down, it'll make this quicker." The Commander said, a bemused smile playing upon his lips.

Zosa threw back his head and laughed, a short bark of mirth. Confused, the Commander snarled and pulled out his a sword. However, from the unmistakable hum, the bounty hunter knew it was a vibro-sword, a normal sword charged with electricity to vibrate, the better to cut with.

Zosa laughed and declared, "You'll never get me alive. And I'm going to enjoy this."

Zosa's gauntlets could also be controlled with verbal commands from his helmet. He ordered, "Flamethrower."

Lighting fast, he dropped his arms to be parallel with the ground, and started to blow air into his microphone. The air was linked to his flamethrower, when he started blowing, the flames started shooting.

Flames erupted out of a small tube that had partially detached from his gauntlet. The surprised mercenaries yelped and jumped back. One unfortunate soldier screamed as he fell to the ground, clawing at the flames leaping about on his body. He collapsed a moment later, twitching and convulsing.

Zosa stopped blowing, and immediately leapt forward, whipping out his blade. He stabbed the first mercenary he saw, and slit the throat of a second before the smoke from the flames had fled the area. The Mandalorian had flipped to thermal sensing mode.

Jumping sideways, he whipped out his blaster pistols and started firing. 3 more soldiers screamed and fell backwards, clutching smoking parts of their bodies. Zosa grabbed one of the last mercenaries, and whipped out his hidden blade.

Turning, he met the Commander's shocked gaze, as the bounty hunter held the blade to his hostage's throat.

He roared, "Try to kill me, and your friend dies."

The Captain laughed and said, "Ha! It is of no importance to me. Kill him if you wish."

Zosa smiled cruelly, and said, "As you wish." He threw the man into the arms of the Commander. They collided, and the startled mercenary leader held himself and the mercenary up.

The bounty hunter took this moment of hesitation to unsheathe his beskad quickly. Leaping forward, he lunged, and plunged the sword through the mercenary, and into the Commander. The tip of the deadly sword protruded out of the Commander's back.

Gasping, the mercenary leader said, "D-damn you!" He collapsed a minute later, a thin trail of blood coming out of his mouth.

The Mandalorian threw back his head in a deep-throated laugh, and walked over to the Commander. He ripped off the dying man's badge.

As he turned to go, he felt a tug on his leg. The Commander laid there, eyes burning with fury. The man's other hand held a small knife.

Laughing, Zosa kicked away the knife, and whipped out his blaster. He held it to the dying man's temple, and said, "Rest in peace, _Commander._" The bounty hunter pulled the trigger.

The pressure dissipated, and Zosa walked away, throwing the badge up into the air and catching it again. Some Imperials would have some serious explaining to do. Preferably at the end of a polished blaster.


	14. The Battle of Myrkr

Author's note: Tossing around this chapter to show you that I'm still alive! Lucarn Zosa is introduced to the Republic, and maybe even a new character! This chapter's HUGE. I thought I'd offset my absence with an epic chapter to satisfy all of you.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Ah screw it. I'm running out of ideas. I don't own Star Wars.

* * *

Chapter 14: The Battle of Myrkr

* * *

The sky was overcast as a massive battle station docked in a port on the massive planet of Coruscant. A lone ship could be seen flying towards the enormous station.

Lucarn Zosa landed on the _Fist_, the same battle station he had docked on before. Angrily, he flashed his card at the same guard. However, the guard refused.

"Sir, I'm not authorized to let you in here. That card is no longer valid." The guard reported.

Zosa was shocked, but betrayed no hint of this. Instead, he replied with a hint of a plot brewing, "Is that so….." The guard flinched.

Zosa pretended to turn around to leave, when he whirled around and smashed a fist across the guard's face. The shocked stormtrooper crumpled, and Zosa pulled out a small device designed to hack into computer mainframes.

He hooked it up to the small panel next to the door, and got to work breaking the code. After 15 minutes and many security walls later, he deactivated the lock on the door.

Zosa pulled open the doors, and was met with a group of stormtroopers with their weapons ready. Surprised, he quickly took a small ball from his belt, and hurled it into the ground, while covering his eyes.

A white flash exploded into life as the stormtrooper group recoiled in pain. Zosa flicked his wrists, and his hidden blades came out from the back of his gauntlets, like blades attached to the back of his wrist. His blades were actually two blades next to each other on both arms. They were a part of his gauntlets, and used a spring system to spring up, and then slid down to catch against his gloves, causing the formerly hidden blades to be extended out like swords on his arms.

The warrior crouched, and leapt forward. He slashed one man across his chest and stabbed through his torso with his blades. Dancing from one man to the next, he impaled both blades through the stormtrooper's helmet.

Flipping forwards to dodge the knives of two stormtroopers, he casually threw two knives behind him, one over each shoulder and impaled themselves in their respective targets. Two thumps could be heard. Throwing one more knife, he caught a man in the throat, who fell to the ground, gurgling and gushing blood.

Zosa proceeded to dash forward slicing one man nearly in half through his unprotected waist, then beheaded another. Next, he grabbed the face of the stormtrooper charging forward, and threw him to the ground. He stabbed his blade through the man's neck. Finally, he met his last target who charged at him helmet-less, roaring, and bearing a knife.

Zosa leapt forward, landed on his knees, and slid forward from his momentum. As the man got closer, the Mandalorian leaned back, and stabbed his blades into the man's stomach.

When he stood up, eight bodies lay on the ground behind him. He retrieved his knives, and merely brushed himself off, muttering, "Damn dirty floor the Imps have. They should get someone to mop off this place."

* * *

Marching forward, he kept his hand on his blaster pistol, and the other hand ready to pull out a throwing knife. Proceeding along the same path he had taken before, he made his way to the control room, killing all who tried to stop him.

Zosa polished off one last stormtrooper with a bolt to the face while wondering what was going on. He shrugged off this thought as he remembered that he would find out soon enough when he entered the control room.

Hacking the door again, he pulled open the doors, and also unholstered his blaster pistols. Unlike his last appearance in the control room, this time, he shot to kill.

Inside the room, the officers were all turned towards him. However, this time, there were 20 other soldiers in the room.

Zosa swore, and without saying anything, he raised his LPO-X blasters and also switched to the blaster setting on his gauntlets. He opened fire, four bolts at a time.

The bounty hunter was deadly accurate. After a few seconds of firing, 12 stormtroopers lay dead from his blaster bolts. Then, in one fluid motion, he holstered his blasters and revealed his knives. He threw two at a time, and killed four more in this fashion. During all of this, the stormtroopers tried to fire on Zosa, but his Mandalorian armor covered vital spots on his body, and the frenzied, panicked shots were not nearly accurate enough to kill the skilled bounty hunter.

Finally, he ran out of knives from his hits and misses. He charged forward, jumped onto the conference table, and leapt forward as he unsheathed his beskad. The short and curved blade glinted in the light, and savagely came down upon the stormtroopers. Blood arced through the air, and soaked the ground as Zosa butchered his foes.

First, a stormtrooper tried to lunge forward with his knife, his blaster too long for the close-quarters combat. Zosa leapt aside, and smashed down with the beskad, severing the man's entire arm off. Ignoring the gushing blood and the screams of the helpless man, he stabbed forward, through the stormtrooper's chest plate, and partially embedded his fist in the man's chest from the sheer force of the stab.

Pulling out, he flipped out a hidden blade, and viciously sliced a stormtrooper down the face, killing him when the blade went through his skull.

Turning to meet his last two opponents, he threw his beskad impaling the man's head against the wall. He died shocked, and eyes peering up at the blade through his brain.

Finally, Zosa sheathed his weapons, and tackled the last foe. He savagely punched the man several times in the face with his beskar crushgaunts. Finally, he lifted the stormtrooper up by the throat, and quietly crushed the squirming man's throat.

Zosa dropped the body, and witnessed the carnage. He had just killed 20 stormtroopers, sustaining relatively minor injuries. He had broken a rib when a man had punched him in the side, and received numerous smaller blaster wounds. However, compared to the bodies, he was fine.

Turning around, Zosa looked furiously at the officers, who sat wide-eyed with shock. From the fact that Captain Ozwell nervously looked around, and was extremely fidgety, Zosa could guess who had orchestrated this.  
Suddenly, Ozwell flew up, and tried to run. Zosa whipped out a pair of magna bolas. His magna bolas were a pair of heavy metal balls connected by a chain. When thrown at a target's legs, they wrapped around, and caused the victim to fall down in a crash.

Zosa expertly hurled them with deliberate force. However, he was not trying to wrap them around Ozwell's legs.

The magna bolas slammed into Ozwell's right leg, which crumpled. Two jagged bones came out of his skin. He screamed, and hit the ground, screaming once more when his exposed bones hit the ground. Zosa had given the Imperial officer a severe compound fracture.

The only officer who had remained unfazed was Grand Moff Yeltris. He leaned forward, and pressed a button on the table. He spoke into it saying, "Please send two medics up here, and about 20 stormtroopers to carry bodies out of here as well."

Yeltris beckoned the Mandalorian to sit down. The Mandalorian obliged, but first retrieved his weapons.

As he sat down, he pulled out one of his larger knives, and slammed it down onto the table. It embedded itself there, and served as a reminder that the warrior was not to be taken lightly.

Yeltris was not intimidated. He broke the silence, and said "Well Mr. Zosa. You've taken care of dozens of our soldiers today. All I can say is that this was not our doing. This was the Emperor's order.

Zosa laughed derisively, and said, "The Emperor did this? I should've known. This is quite obviously actually."

Yeltris was intrigued and said, "Now, how do you know such a thing?"

The bounty hunter shrugged and said, "Isn't it obvious? The Empire would never accept such an unknown bounty hunter into its ranks as a commander. The Emperor himself told me that he was giving me a job to act as a ruse. He wanted to kill me because I knew too much information from a deal with him. So, he had me in a trap to take out one of his targets, and have a group of mercenaries finish me off. Obviously, when his little thugs failed to report back, he set up this trap for me, intending to have me killed."

A transmission flicked into life on the table. The hologram was a shifty and robed figure who sat on a vast throne. His face was in shadow, and not even his race could be seen.

"Good job Mr. Zosa. An inquisitive brain to match an impressive skill set." The figure rasped, as he slowly clapped.  
Zosa folded his arms and replied, "Don't flatter me."

The Emperor chuckled, which sounded almost like he was in pain. He replied. "You were wrong about one thing. Yes, you were meant to be killed. However, because you survived, I am offering the contract to you again. The same conditions, only now I know that you are a ruthless killing machine. And that is proof enough. I couldn't accept you without a test, now could I? Captain Ozwell suggested it actually."

Zosa made a mental note about how he had to try not to kill Ozwell. Again.

"Do we have a deal or not, Mr. Zosa?" the Emperor asked.

Lucarn Zosa looked at the Emperor hard. He replied, saying, "Ok, _Emperor._ I want General rank at all times.

"Done." The Emperor said after a moment of hesitation. The rank of General was extremely high, and delegating a relatively unknown commander to the position was a risk. However, the Empire had plenty of troops to spare.

"But if you ever try to pull anything like this again….I will personally _kill you._" The bounty hunter promised.

* * *

General Lucarn Zosa stood on the bridge of the _ISF Bastion._ His status as General gave him command of well over 190,000 stormtroopers, and 100,000 support personnel.

The _ISF Bastion _orbited the planet of Myrkr, in preparation of a bold new move suggested by Zosa himself. Named Operation Vader's Saber, Zosa was about to put the plan into action.

The Galactic Free Republic held an important base on the planet, a training base for the army. Zosa's forces had just emerged out of hyperspace into the planet's orbit. Cleverly, the Empire had used their spies to determine the location of the Republic fleet over Myrkr.

The Imperial forces under the Mandalorian had then came out of hyperspace on the other side of the planet, and also disrupted the sensor fields of Myrkr. That way, they could not be seen by the Republic fleet, nor could the planet's soldiers detect them.

Zosa prepared for battle. He barked, "At my word, all ships jump to the Republic position. Prepare all cannons. Deflector Shields at full power, and boarding parties ready. Now….GO!"

The Imperial fleet leapt into action, and soon, the surprised Republic fleet came into range.

"Open fire with all forward turbolasers! Deploy bomber squadrons with support now!" Zosa ordered.

The huge turbolaser batteries of the Imperial Star Destroyers opened up, and began to relentlessly pound the Republic fleet. Zosa's fleet consisted of 4 Imperial Star Destroyers, and the Republic fleet consisted of 6 of their standard capital ships, the _Republic_-class battle-cruisers. In an open fight, the Star Destroyers were equal to the _Republic_'s.

Zosa knew that he had to use his advantage in surprise. His intellectual mind surged and raced with possibilities as he called out orders.

"Turn to rake them with starboard cannons! All guns, I don't care what they are! Decimate their cannons!" The Mandalorian bounty hunter ordered. He flowed from command to command like a conductor leading an orchestra. Soon, 2 of the Republic ships had gone down to none of his lost.

All of a sudden, a desperate com-link came in. "Sir! This is Admiral Trang of the _ISF Victory!_ We have lost all shields, and our engines are failing! We must abandon ship! What should we do?" Admiral Trang wailed.

Zosa came up with an idea. Standard Republic formation dictated that the ships form a line, so an entire side of the ship was facing the enemy, the better to decimate them with broadsides. Zosa had an idea.

"We'll cover you. Take your ship, and make your way to the end of their line, as if you're retreating. They'll pay you no attention. Then, when I give the order, ram the engines of the last ship in the line! Hit them in the rear, Trang. Before you hit, evacuate all your soldiers and forces to the planet at Point Beta!" Lucarn barked.

Trang looked nervously at the bounty hunter, before saluting and ending the transmission.

The nearly crippled _Victory_ crawled away. As the Mandalorian had predicted, the Republic ships paid no attention to the dying ship, knowing that there was bigger trouble in the non-crippled ships.

However, as the _Victory _reached the end, it abruptly turned around, and smashed into the rear of the last Republic battle-cruiser. The ship lurched forward, and smashed into the rear of the ship in front of it, crippling the engines. Both ships exploded, and burning parts of what used to be fine Republic battle-cruisers floated in the vacuum of space. The _ISF Victory _also exploded, and thousands of ejection pods were seen rocketing towards Myrkr.

Only two more ships remained. However, they turned to flee. Zosa barked at the relaxing crew. "Don't let them escape!"

At this time, the Imperial fleet only had two of its star destroyers remaining. However, while the _Republic_'s were more powerful than the Star Destroyers, the Star Destroyers could outrun them easily. As the crippled ships tried to flee, Zosa laughed, and threw his hand forward.

"Fire all forward cannons on their engines! Concentrate on the ship closest to us!"

The vast empty space was suddenly illuminated by the sight of dozens of cannons opening fire from the _Bastion._ The Republic battle-cruiser nearest to the Bastion was pelted with fire, and explosions rocked the ship. The _Bastion's _partner, the _Crusher_ opened fire as well, and soon, the battle-cruiser had exploded into a ball of flame, which lasted for a second before the lack of oxygen caused the ship to go out.

However, the last ship barely escaped, and made the jump to hyperspace. Zosa cursed on the inside, but merely ordered the ships to land on Myrkr, to rendezvous with the crews and armies of the two ships that had evacuated to Point Beta.

Lucarn Zosa leaned back into his command chair. He was pleased. His first successful mission meant 1 million more credits for himself.

* * *

It was a sunny day, and around noon on Myrkr. The birds were singing, the day was beautiful, and stormtroopers were marching through the forest.

Zosa had come up with a new trick to take out the huge Republic base on the planet. His entire army had landed on the planet, yet the Republic army facing him was twice as large. He planned to use his starfighters advantageously, as he knew from spy reports that the only starfighters available to the planet were docked on the battle-cruisers stationed above the planet.

The Imperial Army prepared to put into action Zosa's brilliant trap. Using an illusion, he used holograms and sounds to make it sound like his army was much larger than it actually was. Then, he had prepared his tanks in the forest. On his command, they would fire on the Republic base. The rest of his plan would use his fighters and bombers to his advantage.

Myrkr was a mostly forested planet. The Republic base was located in a huge circular clearing, the better for new recruits to train on.

Zosa was all set. Every part of his plan was ready. Now to put it in action.

* * *

Private Ben Eratin relaxed in the mess hall with some of his friends. He was a new recruit, and the latest training drill they had done was brutal. An 8-mile hike up steep hills had been exhausting.

"Damn, that Sergeant Gyrk is one ass." His friend Hyeas Odak said. He had been complaining about Sergeant Gyrk for days now. They all hated the brutal sergeant, but none hated him more than Hyeas.

Another man named Tawen Heaks grinned and said, "You're only saying that because he made you do 50 pushups because you talked too much."

Hyeas shot him a look, and snorted. "YOU'RE only saying that 'cuz you're a kiss-ass. You buddy up to old Gyrk and he never punishes your sorry ass."

Ben stood up and said, "You're both asses because it's lunch time, and I'm starving. I'm going to go get some grub."

As Ben stood up, a tall, powerfully built man walked into the room. His face was covered in a traditional mask made of a skull, and his body betrayed the fact that he was not human. With clawed hands and a muscled body built for harsh conditions, the man was a Kaleesh.

Hyeas muttered, "Well look who it is….old "Gyrky" himself.

Sergeant Gyrk roared at the troopers in the mess hall, "To battle you fools! The base is under attack by the Empire!"

* * *

Private Eratin panted as he ran through the hallways. He still wasn't recovered from the 8-mile hike, and the sudden revelation that they were under attack had made his heart race.

He gripped his blaster tightly, and strapped on his helmet. His armor was still on, and he quickly found his squad.

He ran outside, and met up with Hyeas and Tawen. Sergeant Gyrk stood on a small podium, looking at the group of soldiers before him.

"All right you idiots! The Empire is attacking the base, and we're going to bring hell to them, all right? We're leaving now! We have to take out the forces marching towards us! The forest will mess em' up, and it'll give us an advantage! Let's go!"

Jumping down, he pulled on his helmet, and held his rifle tightly. The Republic troopers roared and followed the sergeant.

All of a sudden, huge explosions rocked the shields of the base. The base itself shuddered under the impact of the heavy cannons and tanks of the Empire. Tawen cried out, and almost fell, but Ben grabbed his arm and helped him up. Following Sergeant Gyrk, they headed outside and gasped.

* * *

Lucarn Zosa gazed at the battlefield. The Republic troopers were gathering in the clearing while his troops were hidden in the forest of Myrkr. They were exposed and marching towards where they thought the Empire was coming from. In reality, Zosa's troops were spread out, and the supposed area where they were coming from was actually an illusion. When the Republic went to attack the "army," Zosa's starfighters and bombers would sweep in and rake the Republic army with fire.

The bounty hunter grinned. His plan was all coming to fruition. He pulled out his trusty blaster rifle, switched to the hidden blade setting on his gauntlets, and double-checked his equipment. His knives were newly sharpened, his pistols were full on ammo, his armor was free of dents, and his helmet was working perfectly. Time to start the attack.

* * *

Ben followed the army as they trotted towards the position of the Empire. They stopped at the edge of the wood, and prepared to attack. The tank fire had paused, and they needed to ascertain the position of the Imperial troops.

Suddenly, a huge blast came from the forest, and smashed into a Republic line. They responded with blaster fire.

Ben yelled as he fired his blaster excitedly, feeling that his training had finally paid off. All of a sudden however, he heard humming coming from the sky.

The soldiers looked up, searching the sky for what it could be. Then, Ben gasped as he saw what it was, and pointed.

"Imperial Fleet!" He shouted. The unmistakable starfighters of the Empire could be seen: the TIE Predators.

Then, hell rained down from the sky as the first squadrons of TIE fighters came in for their attack run. They raked the Republic army with blaster fire and proton torpedoes.

Soldiers screamed and tried to dive for cover when huge proton torpedoes came from the sky and exploded. The massive Republic army was so large that the Imperial ships could not miss. Ben dived, and performed a roll. When he got up into a crouch, he aimed his blaster rifle at the planes, and started firing.

The TIE Predators were much too fast for any blaster fire to hit them, and Ben's shots proved to be wasted ones. Then, the Imperial bombers swooped in for their bombing run.

This time, large bombs rained down from the sky, and exploded with huge force. Ben screamed as he was caught in a concussion wave from the bombs, and flew through the air. When he hit the ground, he crumpled up against a body. Getting up, his jaw dropped as he saw that it was Tawen's body.

Ben roared in anger, and tried to fire at the bombers. His shots were wild, and did nothing. The ships left the area, and the Republic had taken a hard punch. Then, the Imperials attacked.

* * *

General Zosa had a view of the battlefield using a hologram from one of his ships. He laughed as he realized his plan was working perfectly. The Republic army had been hit hard, and he had lost very few planes. The Republic base was equipped with anti-aircraft guns, but since no one expected the Empire to call in air support, they were sparsely manned. The Mandalorian suspected that it would not be the same the next time he tried. Instead he signaled one of his officers, and ordered an attack.

From the forest all around, the Imperial troops took aim, and fired, providing blaster fire from all angles at the Republic forces. Ben took his rifle and desperately fired into the woods, hoping that he would kill someone. Then, General Ulsin Kadone issued his first real orders.

"Battle formations! To the base! Order the cannons of the base to start fire!" He roared.

The entire Republic army turned to go back to the base, to hopefully hide under the cover of the cannons of the base. However, they had fallen into Zosa's trap once more.

* * *

Zosa smiled when his plan continued to fall together. He sat on his IC-Z42. It was a specially designed Imperial vehicle that was made for brutal charges. The bounty hunter had ordered them himself using connections to the Emperor.

The charger was shaped like a cone. The rider rode the landspeeder leaning forward on his stomach, lying on the vehicle itself. The front of the vehicle was shaped like a lance, and featured a sharp point to slice through the wind. On the sides of the vehicle were two large blaster cannons, one for each side. The rear of the vehicle was rounded, so air flowed around the cone, and off the rounded back. The rider lay nearly flat on the landspeeder, and had a visor to see where he was going. In the case of a crash, the front crumpled, and the back detached with the rider on it. It was the rider's job to leap off the back.

Zosa signaled the riders around him, and he leaned forward on his own charger. Then, he spoke into the built in com-link, "Follow me."

The Mandalorian stepped on the brakes, and charged forward, with his riders following him. The standard formation was a loose triangle shape to cut a path into the army. Once they went in, they split up into their own groups of two that circled through the enemy army, and shot them in strafing runs.

Lucarn Zosa shot forward, on his nearly silent charger. He opened up fire, and saw the Republic troopers fall to the ground. The rear lines of the army whirled around, trying to see what had happened. They gasped.

* * *

Ben Eratin saw the black IC-Z42's charging through the clearing. The black landspeeders then opened fire, smashing into the rear of the fleeing army.

The chargers opened up fire, and cut down the troopers. Sergeant Gyrk roared, and ordered his troops to turn towards the chargers. General Kadone ordered the troops to take down the chargers.

However, at this time, the chargers broke up their initial assault, and had split up into pairs who watched out for each other. The speeding craft moved so fast that it was nearly impossible to keep track of them.

Ben fired his blaster at the whirling chargers, but their speed prevented him from actually hitting them. He cursed, and watched helplessly as the chargers cut up the quickly wavering army.

He tried to fire, but Hyeas stopped him. "You're just going to hit one of us! We're too far away to do anything!" Ben didn't want to believe him, but knew he was right.

He protested, "But there's got to be something I can do!" Hyeas shrugged, but Ben had an idea. He grabbed Hyeas's arm and pulled him closer towards where the chargers were making their brutal attack. They slipped away when Gyrk wasn't looking.

Ben first attracted the attention of a charger. He fired at the charger coming in towards him, and the angry rider turned around, and then bore down upon Ben's position.

The young private dropped into a ready stance, waiting. Then, as the charger got closer, he moved to the side, and then as the charger passed, he leapt for the vehicle.

Gasping as he slammed into the side of the vehicle, he lifted himself up behind the rider. The rider looked up and behind him, and tried to fight off Ben while piloting his vehicle. However, Ben was ready. He had his pistol ready, and shot the struggling rider.

Throwing the lifeless body aside, he leaned down and turned the charger back towards the army. He found a charger farther away from the army, and he chased the confused rider, who tried to shake off his pursuer.

Ben found the controls, and fired on the rider. His target exploded into a ball of flames. He whooped, and then, a rider came up next to him.

The private had almost shot the charger next to him with his blaster, when he noticed it was the grinning Hyeas. He had commandeered a charger as well.

Ben yelled at him over the wind, "Let's take down these damn Imps!"

* * *

Lucarn Zosa had just decimated another line of troopers, and his losses were low. A good day for himself. However, over the com-link, he had heard that some riders had had their craft stolen by Republic soldiers who had managed to hijack the chargers.

He followed a lead from his wing-mate, and charged towards the position of the rogue chargers. He saw two Republic troopers riding IC-Z42's, and prepared to kill them. The bounty hunter came up behind the two riders, and pressed his buttons. His blaster cannons merely clicked. The Mandalorian had run out of ammo.

However, Zosa's charger was specially modified for a commander. It had a built in autopilot. He set it to follow the two riders. As Zosa got closer, he pulled out a throwing knife. It would be more efficient, seeing as his pistol was going to be more important later on.

Coming up behind the charger, he grinned and proclaimed, "I have you now!"

Taking expert aim, he hurled the knife at his target.

* * *

Time seemed to slow as the knife flipped end over end in air. It flipped through the air, getting closer and closer to its target: a certain brown-haired youth of 18, with bright gray eyes, and an air of humble innocence.

Hyeas saw the knife coming closer and closer as time seemed to slow. It was heading directly toward Ben. In a desperate move, he slammed his charger into Ben's, throwing the trooper's landspeeder away, carrying a bewildered Ben. Then, the knife slammed into Hyeas's back in between his shoulder blades, and he instantly crumpled. His charger slammed into a tree, and the back detached violently. Hyeas's end flipped, and Hyeas slid off and hit the ground with a thud. He feebly tried to move and pull the knife out, but his muscles failed him as his vision flickered.

Ben sat up on the ground, shocked at the death of his friend, who had just given his life to save his own. Ben shakily got up, and started to return to his army. Sergeant Gyrk was fuming.

"You idiot! You stepped out of line!" The Kaleesh soldier roared in displeasure, apparently ignoring the fact that Ben had hijacked a charger and taken down many Imperials. He guiltily returned to line, and held his rifle glumly.

* * *

Lucarn Zosa was displeased. One of his targets had escaped, somewhere. Although his friend had died, Zosa was not satisfied. He wanted to hunt down his enemies. However, he knew that he had to end the battle quickly to stop the loss of chargers. He braked, and got off his charger, close to the edge of the woods.

He spoke into his com-link, "Signal the attack. All riders fall back. All Imperial troops, charge."

* * *

The battered Republic army was suddenly relieved of the chaos when the chargers abruptly left. They roared in victory, but made a fatal error. When the riders had attacked, they had spread out to reduce casualties from the charges. They neglected to go back to battle formations. This was their undoing.

Thousands of Stormtroopers suddenly charged out of the woods, running and firing upon the Republic army. Huge tanks of the Empire rolled out of the forest and blasted the training academy itself. The bewildered army was caught in the crossfire, and the Republic troopers started to fall by the hundreds.

Ben looked around, shocked, and not knowing where to fire. However, Gyrk's booming voice directed them.

"All right you scum! Fire on anyone who gets too close! We're going to hold this base to the very damn end!" Gyrk roared.

The troops cheered. Their sense of spirit was all that was holding them together now.

General Kadone raised his ceremonial saber, and roared, "We fight to the end, lads!" The army roared back, and started to fire upon the charging Imperials.

The Imperials, however, had the impetus of a surprise charge. They broke through the Republic lines, and started to do exactly what they were trained for: destroy their enemy. The stormtroopers activated their bayonets on their rifles, and started to shoot and slash the battered lines of the Republic. No amount of spirit could withstand the brutal attack of a fresh and eager enemy against a tired and weakened foe.

Ben grappled with a stormtrooper. The young soldier had grown up on Naboo, and had wrestled with his friends in the countryside daily. His training had reinforced this, and with a punch to the face, Ben pulled out his knife and stabbed the stormtrooper.

However, as he paused to catch his breath, the next stormtrooper bashed Ben in the head with his rifle. As the dazed soldier fell to the ground, the stormtrooper stood ready to kill the young soldier.

At the last second, Sergeant Gyrk leapt to Private Eratin's aid, and bellowed in the stormtrooper's face. The Imperial flinched. Then, the Kaleesh pulled out his knife, and slashed the stormtrooper down his chest, and then kicked him into the path of another incoming soldier.

Ben lay dazed on the ground, but witnessed his fellow soldiers get cut down by the brutal assault. He feebly tried to move, but two bodies fell to the ground on top of him.

Then, General Kadone roared above the din, "For the Republic! We will fight!" The Republic troopers rallied to this call, and the battle started to turn. The troopers fought with renewed vigor when all of a sudden…

* * *

Lucarn Zosa stood on top of his charger, and kicked it on. The charger slammed through the crowd, killing a few stormtroopers as well. The bounty hunter did a flip off of his charger, and revealed a small beeping remote. Pressing a button, the charger exploded, killing many of the Republic troopers.

Amid the fire, he roared, "For the Empire! We will destroy!" The stormtroopers rallied to his call. Lucarn Zosa unsheathed his two beskads, and set his gauntlets to blaster.

Charging through the crowd, he slashed and stabbed all of the Republic troopers he came across. First slashing a trooper down the chest, then turning and impaling another. He next whirled around, and gunned down two more.

On and on, he penetrated the lines, slashing, stabbing, and gunning his way through the Republic army. The stormtroopers followed him, fracturing the Republic forces.

All of a sudden, General Kadone rushed through the crowd, wielding his saber. It was a standard issue for Republic generals, made of cortosis. It was ceremonial, but could still be used.

General Kadone fell into a ready stance typically only used by Jedi. Leaning back with his front foot out to balance him, and his back leg bent, he held his sword by his waist.

Lucarn Zosa lowered himself, holding his swords pointing at opposite directions parallel to the ground in front of him, in a Jedi Jar-kai stance. Then, Kadone charged.

Zosa blocked the attack, and whipped forward with his own. As the two warriors danced around each other, it was clear that although Kadone had lots of training, the Mandalorian was clearly more skilled.

With an overhead smash, the Republic General was brought to his knees. Using his other beskad, Geran stabbed the General through the chest. The proud man fell to the ground, his eyes unseeing, and his mouth open and pouring out blood.

The Imperials rallied at this, and redoubled their attack, now under the support of their leader.

* * *

Ben watched the battle, as he struggled to get up. As he was about to free himself, he heard a huge roar, and slipped to the ground once more. It was Sergeant Gyrk.

He had torn off his armor when an Imperial incendiary round burned his armor. Ripping off the useless armor, he now only wore his tattered under-suit. However, the Kaleesh warrior fought with the strength of a man possessed.

He wielded two knives, and killed all in his path. As a stormtrooper tried to slash him, he picked up the man, and ripped him in half with his huge strength. Then, he slashed and stabbed another stormtrooper with his knives, and proceeded to kill another stormtrooper by picking him up by the throat, then stabbing him mid-air.

The Kaleesh was insane. His strength and courage was unparalleled, and Ben started to regret the fact that he and his friends had ever questioned the man.

However, four stormtroopers charged the Kaleesh at once, and stabbed him simultaneously. The sergeant gave one last roar, and fell to the ground. The dwindling Republic army soon fell at this last blow, and Zosa cut down the last trooper with his beskad. The battle was over. The stronghold of Myrkr was now the Empire's.

* * *

Author's Note: Oh no! What will happen to Ben? Is he even still alive? And Myrkr is lost! The Republic has met the scrurge known as Lucarn Zosa, Mandalorian Warrior. Who IS this mysterious man, who fights like a Jedi, is as brilliant as a military genius, and above all, is so deadly and skilled that he might even rival Geran? Only time will tell! (And the next few chapters.)


End file.
